As reported in Congress Daily today, disagreements persist between Senate Finance Committee chair Charles Grassley (R-IA) and House Ways & Means chair Bill Thomas (R-CA) about how to handle the set of popular tax credit extension currently embedded in the "trifecta" legislation. Among the points of contention, if the extender bill were to be considered on a stand-alone basis, are:

• the inclusion of negotiated sweeteners, such as "a $4 billion abandoned mine reclamation fund that was added to court the vote of Sen. Robert Byrd, D-W.Va., a tax cut on capital gains from timber sales aimed at luring Sens. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., and Mark Pryor, D-Ark., to the package, and added depreciation benefits for business rebuilding after Hurricane Katrina." Keep them, says Grassley "In my view, the agreement is closed. No items should be subtracted. No items should be added." Ways and Means Committee GOP sources says Thomas begs to differ.
• the term of the extension: "If we have to do extenders, it will be a one-year, pretty skinny package ... I don't think there's an appetite for a lot of new starters," one Senate Republican aide said. Thomas is said to be inclined to make the extensions permanent.