WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Claire McCaskill today released the following statement after voting to keep in place tax cuts for middle class families through the end of next year:

"This is a win for Missouri's middle class families who can't afford a tax increase right now. We've still got work to do to get this plan across the finish line-but as we keep working to create more jobs and keep the economic recovery moving, I'm going to fight as hard as I know how to make sure these tax cuts remain in place for the folks who need them most. Now it's up to the U.S. House to follow our lead."

The proposal approved today by the Senate extends current tax cuts for all Americans on their first $200,000 of income-$250,000 for a couple-through 2013. Currently, those tax cuts are set to expire at the end of the year.

The legislation was approved on a vote of 51-48. An alternative bill that would have also extended tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans-policies that would cost approximately $800 billion more over ten years-failed on a vote of 45-54.

Separately today, McCaskill introduced legislation to prevent a scheduled increase in the federal estate tax by extending current estate tax levels through 2013. Under current law, those current rates are scheduled to expire at the end of the year, in which case rates would revert to 1990s levels. McCaskill's bill would lock in the current low rate of 35 percent on the transfer of properties worth more than $5 million for at least one more year to provide certainty for Missouri's farm and ranch families.

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