The House has approved a measure to extend the Bush-era tax cuts for individuals with an annual income of $200,000 or less and married couples earning no more than $250,000 a year. All but three Republicans voted against the measure as part of a GOP effort to preserve the cuts for those making over $250,000 as well. The measure has virtually no chance of reaching President Obama’s desk amidst Republican vows for a Senate filibuster. Ahead of the vote, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi criticized Republicans for demanding tax cuts for the wealthy while stalling jobless benefits for the unemployed.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi: “$700 billion in tax cuts to the top two percent in our country, and our Republican colleagues say we should do that and we should not pay for it, we should add that $700 billion to the deficit. But when it comes to unemployment insurance, and just the renewal we want to have is — costs $18 billion — $700 billion, $18 billion — they’re saying that has to be paid for. We have to pay for unemployment insurance; we don’t have to pay for tax cuts for the rich. Tax cuts for the rich do not create jobs.”