WH veto threat official on tax bill

The White House officially threatened to veto a measure to permanently extend three incentives for charitable giving on Wednesday, a day after suggesting they opposed the measure.

{mosads}The House plans to vote on the bill on Thursday, and the official veto threat further complicates Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp’s efforts to get the two-thirds vote needed to send the legislation to the Senate. Both Camp (R-Mich.) and Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) support the bill.

But in a statement, the Obama administration said it couldn’t support the $11 billion bill because its costs weren’t offset and would add to the deficit. The measure would extend for good tax breaks for land preservation, food donations and certain contributions from retirement accounts.

“As with other similar proposals, Republicans are imposing a double standard by adding to the deficit to continue tax breaks, while insisting on offsetting the proposed extension of emergency unemployment benefits and the discretionary funding increases for defense and non-defense priorities,” the administration said in its statement.

The veto threat comes as House Democratic leaders are whipping against the bill, calling into question whether the GOP can get the dozens of Democratic votes they’ll likely need to get a two-thirds majority. Even before the White House veto threat, there were questions about whether there was enough time for the proposal to pass the Senate.

In its statement, the Obama administration also gave a nod toward a broader tax deal that it scuttled in November, which would have permanently extended the charitable incentives and other preferences for businesses and individuals. Obama and House Democrats didn’t like the deal, which was being negotiated by Camp and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), because it didn’t touch certain tax breaks for working families.

“House Republicans also are making clear their priorities by rushing to make these tax cuts permanent without offsets even as the House Republican budget resolution calls for raising taxes on 26 million working families and students by letting important improvements to the Earned Income Tax Credit, Child Tax Credit, and education tax credits expire,” the administration statement said.

The veto threat is the latest twist for a bill that seemed to have momentum on its side for much of Wednesday, with Camp touting its bipartisan support and Wyden calling it uncontroversial.

On Thursday, five separate charitable groups urged House Democrats to reconsider their growing opposition to the bill, saying its “impact on low-income Americans, underserved populations, communities of color and the nation’s community food banks cannot be overstated. “

“In this season of giving, when we are challenged to act selflessly and do more to help others, we are calling upon rank and file Democratic Members of Congress to vote for this critical legislation today to promote charitable contributions and enable the nonprofit sector to better serve those most in need,” Feeding America, Council on Foundations, Independent Sector, National Council of Nonprofits and the Land Trust Alliance said in their joint statement.