Democratic leader: Permanent middle class tax cuts 'too costly'

WASHINGTON—House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer says Congress should seriously consider only temporarily extending middle class tax cuts set to expire at the end of the year because making them permanent would add too much to the national debt.

President Barack Obama is proposing to permanently extend them for individuals making less than $200,000 a year and families making less than $250,000—at a cost of about $2.5 trillion over the next decade.

Hoyer told a budget deficit forum Tuesday that the price tag may be too high. The Maryland Democrat also said that in the longer term, Congress will have to rein in spending and raise taxes to tackle the debt.

In April, Obama bragged about cutting taxes.

At a Democratic fundraiser in Miami on tax day, the president said he was "amused" by the theme of the rallies held by furious protesters across the nation.

"I've been a little amused over the last couple of days where people have been having these rallies about taxes," Obama said, to laughter and applause from the audience. "You would think they would be saying thank you. That's what you'd think."

The crowd lapped it up.

Obama pointed out, as he often has, that he made good on his campaign promise and "cut taxes for 95 percent of working Americans" -- a policy he implemented early in his presidency through the stimulus.