Senate Unveils Total Cost of Tax Deal

The Senate presented the final price tag of $858 billion for President Obama's tax deal Republican leaders and began debating the package Thursday night.

The Senate aims to vote on the bill Monday, a week after it was first announced, The Wall Street Journal reported. It is expected to clear the Senate, with backers including Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, who had previously expressed reservations.

The package would temporarily extend all the income tax cuts enacted under President George W. Bush, while also temporarily cutting the payroll tax and extending unemployment benefits.

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Many Democrats, including Obama, had been calling for the tax cut for high-earning individuals and households to expire. Republicans said they would prevent any legislation from being passed in the Senate until all the tax cuts were extended.

The outlook in the House of Representatives is still uncertain. In a closed-door meeting, House Democrats chanted "Just Say No" before passing a nonbinding resolution saying the tax agreement shouldn't be considered in the House unless changes were made.

"We will continue discussions with the president and our Democratic and Republican colleagues in the days ahead to improve the proposal before it comes to the House floor for a vote," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in a written statement.

The tax provisions in the deal would cost $801 billion over 10 years, according to the bipartisan Joint Committee on Taxation. The bill identifies no offsetting cuts in spending, which means that the entire amount will add to the deficit.