PARTISAN FIRE

Bush Tax Cut Showdown Planned for Sept.

Sen. Harry Reid plots legislation before election.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) plans to push legislation in September to address the extension of $3 trillion tax cuts President George W. Bush passed while in office. Originally, Senate Democrats hoped to postpone discussing the tax cuts til after the election; however, it looks like they will now debate the issue. The tax cuts—which include, among other things, the repeal of the estate tax—are due to expire at the end of the year. “I expect it to be on the floor in September,” Reid spokesman Jim Manley told The Hill. Some Democratic senators, like Sen. Kent Conrad (ND), who serves on the Senate Finance Committee, have said they would support a short-term extension of the tax cuts.