The Verdict: Pre-Election Tax Cut Vote Is A No-Go

Senate Democrats will NOT vote on extending Bush-era tax cuts for families making less than $250,000 a year before the upcoming congressional elections, the spokesman for Majority Leader Harry Reid confirmed Thursday, according to

. "We will come back in November [after the elections] and stay in session as long as it takes to get this done," said a statement from Reid's spokesman, Jim Manley. The announcement followed reports by citing senior Democratic sources, that Senate Democrats would hold off for now on forcing a vote on the measure pressured by President Obama. "The reality is, we will not pass what needs to be passed to change this either in the Senate or the House before the election," said Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, the second-ranking Democrat in the Senate. President Obama argues that the nation cannot afford the extra $700 billion tab to extend tax breaks for those in the top income bracket. Republicans, backed by 31 moderate to conservative House Democrats, as well as several Democratic senators, have argued that a failure to extend the lower rates for everyone could damage the economic recovery. Try one of Benzinga's premium newsletters