The House has rejected the Senate-approved plan to extend the Bush-era tax rates for families making less than $250,000 while letting them rise for top earners.
In a 170-257 vote, the House knocked down the Democrat-backed bill and moved on to a vote on Republicans' version. That bill would extend the Bush-era rates for everyone.
The debate, though, amounted to another round of political theater considering congressional leaders do not yet have a roadmap for actually getting a bill to President Obama's desk.
If the GOP-backed House bill passes as expected, it would immediately collide with the Senate-passed proposal. Unclear is where lawmakers, and the president, will go from here to try and avert at least some of the looming tax hikes set to go into effect in January when the Bush-era rates expire.
Obama is on the campaign trail, touting the Democrats' plan as the only responsible route for extending the Bush-era rates. But he is not meeting with congressional leaders about how the two sides might iron out their differences and strike a compromise package.
Technically, the House and Senate could take their dueling proposals to a so-called conference committee after the vote Wednesday. But for now, that is not likely, and the prevailing Washington wisdom is that lawmakers won't tackle the tax crisis in earnest until after the election -- and possibly until the next presidential term begins.
