Congressional Democrats Split from Obama on Taxes

Lawmakers are more willing to make a deal than the president

President Barack Obama has made his tax position abundantly clear: Let the tax rates for the wealthiest Americans expire at year's end.

But on Capitol Hill, some in his own party are ready to make a deal.

Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin of Illinois is floating a six-month extension of current rates combined with budget cuts so lawmakers have time to reach a grand bargain deal early next year. Sen. Claire McCaskill of Missouri and other Democrats are open to a temporary extension of the top individual tax rate if Republicans agree to raise revenue in other parts of the Tax Code. Some liberals, like New Jersey Rep. Bill Pascrell, aren't ruling out extending the current rates if the GOP agrees to sweeteners like a patch on the alternative minimum tax or extending dozens of lapsed business tax breaks.