At the White House, Mr. Obama announced his proposal of a one-year extension in the Bush-era tax cuts for people earning under $250,000, which threatened to put him at odds with some Democrats who have supported extending the cuts for everyone earning up to $1 million. While most party leaders fell into line with Mr. Obama’s message, several rank-and-file members said they remained opposed to any tax increases. The No. 2 House Democrat, Representative Steny H. Hoyer of Maryland, indicated that he would be open to a $1 million income threshold, while Senator Ben Nelson, a Nebraska Democrat who is retiring at the end of this session of Congress, called that a bare minimum. “My druthers are to extend all of the tax cuts to continue the economic recovery,” he said. “But if this leads to a compromise, Congress should at least extend the cuts for everyone under $1 million.” At the same time, House Republicans forged ahead with their plans to vote on a repeal of Mr. Obama’s health care law, even as some members expressed unease about voting to abolish politically popular elements of the law. Others expressed fears that the Republicans would be hurt politically for appearing to refight the health care battles of two years ago, after the Supreme Court had upheld the law and many voters had moved on. The divisions underscored the stakes for the president and the Republicans as they battle for control of the political debate — each choosing as their weapon a complex public policy issue with broad ripple effects. With four months left until Mr. Obama and Congress face the voters, these choices have become even more fraught, as lawmakers worry about alienating people who like expanded health coverage or tax cuts. Mr. Obama, flanked by supporters chosen to represent the taxpayers who would benefit from his proposal, made the case that putting money in middle-class pockets would foster economic growth more than wealthy ones. “These tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans are also the tax cuts that are least likely to promote growth,” Mr. Obama said in a ceremony in the East Room. “We don’t need more top-down economics,” he said. “We have tried that theory. We have seen what happened. We can’t afford to go back to it.” He said 98 percent of households and 97 percent of small businesses would receive a tax cut under his plan. But Republicans said the president’s proposal would amount to a broad tax on small businesses because many business owners report their profits as personal income. While the fault lines between Republicans and Mr. Obama were clear, the president’s move provoked anxiety among some Democrats who either favor across-the-board tax relief or argue that putting the threshold for expiration at $1 million is more politically potent than $250,000. Mr. Obama may have added to that perception by campaigning for the Buffett Rule — named for the billionaire investor Warren E. Buffett — which would impose a minimum tax rate of 30 percent on anyone who earns $1 million or more. Senator Jim Webb, Democrat of Virginia, reiterated his position that no income taxes should be raised, while Senator Joe Manchin III of West Virginia, one of Mr. Obama’s toughest critics within his party, declared in a statement that “the people of West Virginia are tired of temporary solutions to our long-term problems.” Mr. Hoyer, speaking at the Center for American Progress, a research and advocacy group, reacted with ambivalence. He said he supported Mr. Obama’s $250,000 cutoff, but he added, “A million dollars will be, I think, a metaphor for Republicans who will not support increasing revenues on any persons in America, no matter how much they make.” White House officials, led by the chief of staff, Jacob J. Lew, began meeting with Democratic leaders last month to prepare them for Mr. Obama’s move, according to a senior Senate Democratic leadership aide, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. At those meetings, a leading advocate of the $1 million cutoff, Senator Charles E. Schumer of New York, warned that Republicans had stoked concerns among middle-income voters that their taxes could increase next year. The $1 million threshold created a “bright line” that would decouple middle-class families from the truly rich, he said.
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