House Passes Tax Cut Retaining Lower Rates

EXCELLENT, I frankly thought the vote might be a bit closer but it appears that the leadership kept the RINOs at bay.

WASHINGTON - The house voted Thursday to preserve tax cuts for investors through the rest of the decade, safeguarding the centerpiece of the Republican tax agenda in a $56 billion package of tax breaks.

The bill, passed 234-197 along mostly party lines, would keep the 15 percent top tax rate for capital gains and dividends in place in 2009 and 2010, two years after their scheduled disappearance at the end of 2008.

Republicans said tax cuts championed by President Bush have revved up a sluggish economy, and Treasury Secretary John Snow praised the bill's passage, saying, "It would encourage investment and innovation — the lifeblood of the American economy."

Democrats disagreed and said the tax cuts for investment income, and much of the GOP's economic agenda, exacerbated budget deficits and ignored average workers.

Au Contraire butt faced ones, it's economy stimulating employment insurance.