The top US Senate Democrat said Tuesday he hoped to have the votes needed to extend middle-class tax cuts due to expire at year's end while letting rates on the highest brackets rise.
The issue has arisen as a signature political battle ahead of November 2 mid-term US elections, in which Democrats fear a rout because of deep voter anger at the sour US economy and joblessness near 10 percent.
"I hope so," Democratic Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said when asked whether he had the support necessary to retain just the middle-class tax cuts enacted in 2001 and 2003 and set to run out in January.
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"It would certainly be the right thing to do, and only one way of finding out, and that's take a vote on it," Reid told reporters after meeting with the chamber's other 56 Democrats and their two independent allies.
Reid needed to hold his caucus together and enlist at least one Republican in order to marshal the 60 votes needed to overcome any parliamentary delaying tactics by President Barack Obama's Republican critics.
"I think Democrats all support that, so we need to pick up a few Republican" votes, said Reid.
Republicans say that all of the tax cuts -- including for the richest two percent of earners, individuals earning more than 200,000 dollars a year or couples making more than 250,000 -- should be extended.
Republicans say any tax increases will prove "job-killing" in the sour US economy, a difficult argument for some endangered Democrats to counter ahead of the elections, though polls show only about one third of Americans want the tax cuts for the highest brackets extended.
"The best way to begin to get out of this is to not raise taxes on some of America's most productive job generators," said Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.
A handful of Democrats have indicated they would favor extending all of the tax cuts, some for two years, and it was unclear whether Reid would be able to hold Democrats together to fend off the Republican push.
"We're united, as a Democratic caucus, in cutting taxes for middle-class Americans and small businesses," said Reid.
"And I would hope that the Republicans wouldn't hold hostage middle-class tax cuts in order to protect these giveaways to millionaires and billionaires," he said, echoing a White House line of attack.
