WASHINGTON (AP) - Democrats blocked a Senate vote Wednesday on President Barack Obama's plan to extend expiring tax cuts for a year for everyone but the highest-earning Americans as the two parties maneuvered to try embarrassing each other on one of the election year's foremost issues.
The move came just two days after Obama urged Congress to vote on his proposal. Democrats plan to take up the president's proposal before Congress' August recess.
Without action by lawmakers, wide-ranging tax cuts enacted a decade ago under President George W. Bush will expire on New Year's Day. That's an outcome economists say would be a blow to the already weak economy.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., proposed votes on two amendments to a small business tax cut bill the chamber is debating. One was on Obama's plan, the other on a Republican alternative that would include top earners in the extended tax reductions.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., blocked the votes on both for now, saying the Senate would return to them after it finishes the small business tax measure. Aides said Democrats want to focus now on the small business measure, which they view as a winning issue for them, and turn later this month to Obama's plan to extend the broader tax cuts, which they see as a draw for voters.