No-tax-rise vow shakier for Arkansas delegation

— As several of their colleagues retracted a pledge not to raise taxes Monday, some of Arkansas’ Republican lawmakers in Washington signaled they were open to a broad budget deal in the works even if it included a tax increase.

Rep. Steve Womack, for instance, “is not responding to hypotheticals,” said Claire Burghoff, his spokesman. “He’s waiting to see what the deal looks like, and he’ll make a decision then.”

Womack, a Republican from Rogers, and the other Republican members of the state’s delegation signed an anti-tax pledge to their constituents promoted by Grover Norquist, founder of Americans for Tax Reform.

In signing the pledge they promised they would“oppose any and all efforts to increase the marginal income tax rates for individuals and/or businesses and ... oppose any net reduction or elimination of deductions and credits, unless matched dollar for dollar by further reducing tax rates.”

Little Rock’s Rep. Tim Griffin said he remains opposed to raising tax rates.

“My principles haven’t changed,” he said.

However, Griffin said he was “open” to hearing proposals on how to avoid the “fiscal cliff” - a combination of deep spending cuts and tax increases scheduled to go into effect at the end of the year that many economists warn could send the country into another recession.

If President Barack Obama and members of Congress don’t reach an agreement, the Bushera tax cuts will expire, resulting in tax increases on most Americans. Obama has pledged to veto any bill that extends the tax cuts for families making more than $250,000 a year.

“I understand the importance of reaching a deal so that taxes don’t go up on everybody,” Griffin said. “Before I commit to anything, I want to see whether people are serious” about cutting spending on so-called entitlement programs such as Medicare and Social Security, Griffin said.

Republican Sen. John Boozman said he stands by his pledge. He said he didn’t feel any pressure from a retreat from the pledge by some of his GOP Senate colleagues, including Tennessee’s Sen. Bob Corker and South Carolina’s Sen. Lindsey Graham .

“They are going to have to work with their constituents and do what they think is best,” he said. “I’m not really concerned about Norquist. I’m concerned about the hardworking people of Arkansas. I promised not to dramatically raise their taxes.”

Asked what he meant by his promise not to “dramatically” raise rates, Boozman said that he favored a simpler tax code with lower rates.

Rep. Rick Crawford of Jonesboro signaled his willingness to break the pledge in March, when he floated a plan that would raise taxes on the wealthy, conditioned on congressional approval of a balanced-budget amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

In a statement Monday, Crawford called for a “balanced approach” that included both increased revenue and spending controls.

Democrats said the retraction of the pledge by several Republicans is a sign of progress in the negotiations.

Sen. Mark Pryor said going back on the pledge was courageous and Republicans who did so would face primary challenges from within their party.

“I’m proud of them,” he said.

“Hallelujah, it’s about time,”said Thomas “Mack” McLarty, Bill Clinton’s former White House chief of staff.

McLarty said Republicans who said they would break the pledge showed “common sense and courage.”

The pledge, he said, is not like a marriage vow, or a “blood oath” like one a high school student makes. Many of the pledges were made, he said, when the economy was not in as precarious a position as it is now.

If a deal is reached, McLarty said, it would be a “golden moment” for the United States as it attempts to improve its position as a global political and economic leader. But if no deal is reached, McLarty said, the tax increases and a round of deep spending cuts scheduled to go into effect in January could damage the U.S. economy, putting the country on a course “where no man has gone before.”

“This isn’t outer space,” he said, “this could be the abyss.”

Front Section, Pages 1 on 11/27/2012

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