WASHINGTON - The Senate passed it. President Barack Obama says he'll sign it. Polls show most Americans want it.
Now Democrats say they will try to force House Republicans to hold a vote on a proposal to prevent higher income taxes for 98% of the nation starting next year while raising the rate on income over $250,000.
With Republicans opposing any kind of tax-rate increase, the fight continues to stymie congressional negotiations on reducing chronic federal deficits and debt.
This time, the public brinksmanship comes with a looming year-end deadline for the fiscal cliff of automatic tax hikes and deep spending cuts.
Without a deal, taxes for everyone go up on January 1, when lower rates enacted during the administration of George W. Bush are set to expire.
Fresh off his re-election victory, Obama demands that the GOP-led House immediately pass a Senate measure that keeps tax rates at current levels for income up to $250,000, while allowing the rate to rise for earnings above that threshold.
A central theme of Obama's first term and re-election campaign, the plan would increase revenue by almost $1 trillion over 10 years, providing a significant portion of the $4 trillion in overall deficit reduction sought by both sides.
However, Republicans led by House Speaker John Boehner object to any increase in tax rates, even for higher levels of income earned by 2% of Americans.
Republicans, instead, propose eliminating unspecified tax deductions and loopholes to generate more revenue as part of a broader deficit-reduction plan.
For the GOP, an agreement must include major reforms of entitlement programs such as the Medicare and Medicaid government-run health care programs for senior citizens, the disabled and the poor.
On Sunday, House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi threatened a procedural move that would, at the least, require Republicans to publicly state their opposition to avoiding the fiscal cliff tax hike on everyone.
"If Speaker Boehner refuses to schedule this widely-supported bill for a vote, Democrats will introduce a discharge petition to automatically bring to the floor the Senate-passed middle class tax cuts," Pelosi said in a statement. "We must find a bold, balanced and fair agreement to avoid the fiscal cliff. The clock is ticking and stalemates are a luxury we cannot afford."
Under a "discharge petition," a bill can be brought to the floor without going through a committee or without approval of House leadership. The bill would need majority support -- or 218 votes -- to pass.
In the current lame-duck session of Congress, there are 192 Democrats in the House, so at least 26 Republicans would have to defect for Pelosi's motion to succeed.
Some House Republicans, including Rep. Tom Cole of Oklahoma and other conservative voices, have called for passing the tax plan sought by Obama and Democrats to allow the broader negotiations to move forward.
Cole and fellow conservative Rep. Tim Scott both said last week they believed that Senate tax measure would pass if brought to a vote in the House.
However, Cole made clear he would follow the directions of the leadership, tamping down the chances of a GOP revolt against Boehner over the issue.
Boehner has so far rejected any increase in tax rates, even if only for the wealthiest Americans, saying his offer to include additional revenue by eliminating some loopholes and deductions was a major concession.
On Sunday, he described the latest Democratic proposal for a broader deficit reduction plan as one-sided and unworthy of discussion.
"The president's idea of a negotiation is, 'Roll over and do what I ask,'" Boehner told Fox News Sunday, describing himself as "flabbergasted" by the plan put forward last week by Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner. "I looked at him and I said, 'You can't be serious.'"
Such posturing on both sides reflects the mistrust built up over two years of deficit wars that have left Congress with a reputation of dysfunction.
Failure to reach a deal to avert the fiscal cliff and devise a framework for a broader deficit reduction package to be negotiated when the new Congress is seated in January would cause certain economic turmoil and threaten the U.S. credit rating.
The Bush administration tax cuts of 2001 and 2003 already were extended by two years as part of budget negotiations earlier in Obama's term.
In addition, spending cuts of $1 trillion over 10 years also kick in next year, the result of the Republican-led standoff over raising the federal debt ceiling in 2011 that led to a U.S. credit rating downgrade.
Sharp tax increases and automatic spending cuts would cut the projected federal budget deficit nearly in half -- but also would threaten millions of jobs, especially those dependent on government contracting, and risk a return to recession, according to the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office.
The non-partisan Tax Policy Center estimates middle class families would pay about $2,000 a year more in taxes without another extension
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