The Hill News

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) signaled Friday she is not softening her opposition to extending the Bush-era tax cuts for high income earners.

Asked whether or not she would accept even a temporary extension of all the cuts like some Democrats want, Pelosi said that it is time to let them expire for the upper income brackets and be extended for the middle-class.

{mosads}"The position that we have, and which is position the president has put forth, is that everybody should get a tax cut in our country," the outgoing Speaker told NPR. "The problem comes when an additional tax cut to the wealthy is two percent that will heap $700 billion in debt" upon the country's children.

Pelosi's comments indicate that Republicans and Democrats are headed to a stand-off on the Bush tax cuts, which expire on Jan. 1, when Congress returns for its lame-duck session next week. 

House GOP Whip Eric Cantor (Va.), the incoming majority leader, and o! ther key Republicans said this week they do not plan relinquish their support for extending all of the tax cuts. Even though House Democrats were swept out of power in last week's elections, they will still control the lower chamber when Congress meets starting Nov. 15.

The California Democrat's take comes one day after White House senior adviser David Axelrod caused a stir by suggesting the Obama administration could be willing to back a temporary extension for all the tax cuts if that was the best way to renew the middle-class cuts. 

But Pelosi said that the cuts, instituted by the GOP in 2001 and 2003, have not been effective.

"Those tax cuts have been effect for a very long time, they did not cre! ate jobs," she said, adding later that, "From day one, Preside! nt Obama and this Congress have been job creators."

But Democrats have been pulled apart over what to do with the tax cuts. Centrist Democrats, many of whom were not reelected but whom will return for the lame-duck, support extending the cuts for at least one or two years due to the poor economy.

Republicans are largely united in wanting a permanent extension.