Dan — On Thursday night, as the Senate rolled out its tax deal, Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D., Md.) was steps away, hosting a holiday party with friends and supporters in an upper-chamber conference room. Before he left the Capitol, he huddled with a few reporters. Many House Democrats, he said, remain unhappy with the current agreement. In coming days, he would like to see irate members get the chance to make their views known on the floor.
“I’m confident there will be an opportunity to debate and vote on different aspects of the bill,” Van Hollen said. “There are concerns about different portions of the bill for different members. The one unifying concern is the bonanza, the huge bonanza for the wealthiest estates in the country.”
How this plays out, should the Senate pass the deal early next week, is complicated. “I’m not sure I would expect a change on that provision in the Senate, but . . . let’s let them do their work.”