GOP negotiators for the House and Senate reached a deal yesterday on the nearly $70 billion tax reconciliation measure. The bill extends Bush's deep tax cuts by extending the 15 percent rate on capital gains and dividends, and also includes a one-year patch protecting 15 million Americans from paying the alternative minimum tax. $67 billion of the $69 billion bill will go toward one of those two priorities. The Tax Policy Center has estimated that middle-income families will see an average tax cut worth $20 from the agreement, while households making over $1 million dollars will see an average cut of $42,000. This agreement comes just a few months after Congress passed a budget reconciliation bill enacting budget cuts that will affect millions of middle- and low-income Americans. It is clear that those budget cuts won't bring down the deficit, as their proponents claimed, but that they will be used to pay for a part of these tax cuts. The House could consider the bill tonight, and the Senate will likely take it up later this week. Washington Post: GOP Reaches Deal on Tax Cuts Center on Budget and Policy Priorities: Fact Sheet on the Tax Agreement