Casper Star-Tribune from Casper, Wyoming • 1

nn SCANWITH SMARTTHOff FOR TODAY'S DEAl Monday December 10, 2012 nC ASPERf 1 Ear i runic $.75 Wyoming's News Source FoundedimSgi 'Fiscal cliff ct Jl V. '-7t 4. Rep. Cynthia Luminis says she can serve the state better on the House of Representatives' Natural Resources Committee. Lummis leaves powerM panel v.

Congresswoman says she wasn't target of GOP House shake up Saul Ptfta, left, brands i better with JW Hendry, right, as they mart more than 200 bead of eattie Nov. 28 in Natrona County. Hendry narks each heifer wttfc the famlty brand wto and farmers are concerned about the possibility of an estate tax hike If the federal government is unable to avoid the fiscal lynchers, farmers worry about atf estate and long in land value it 's hard to keep pace he said. Barring an agreement between now and Dec. 31, the sequester would trigger automatic tax increases for everyone and federal spending cuts on Jan.

l. The federal estate tax rate would climb from 35 percent to 55 percent and the exemption threshold would nosedive from $5 million to $1 million for single couples and from $10.24 million to tion by Dec. 31. All citizens are in jeopardy of paying more on money or property they inherit, but small businesses in the agriculture industry fear federal tax hikes, mixed with the revival of a state tax, would cripple family operated ranches and farms Wyoming. If ranchers want to pass their operation to the next generation, the average family can't afford to pay the estate tax based on livestock sales alone, Lander rancher Jim Helryer said.

Because ranchers are short on liquid capital By KYLE ROERINK Star-Tribune staff writer Wyomingites will see the return of a state estate tax if the country falls off the "fiscal cliff," according to Dan Noble, excise ta administrator with UieVming Department of Revenue. Additionally, the Cowboy State and the rest of the country could expect a 20 percent jump in the federal estate tax, also known as the death tax, if Congress and the White House can't reach an agreement to avoid sequestra By KYLE ROERINK Star-Tribune staff Rep. Cynthia Lummis said her decision to leave the coveted House Appropriations Committee had nothing to do with the recent purge of so-called radical Republicans from prominent committees and everything to do with better serving her Wyoming constituents. In January, she will return to the chamber's Natural Resources Committee after a two-year absence. House leadership asked a number of representatives to step down from their committees Nov.

Lummis said she requested the move. Few in Washington leave the influential appropriations committee. Known as having the power of the purse, it accounts for federal government spending. A move from the appropriations committee to natural resources would be a downgrade in other states. But Wyoming is different.

The resources committee has an enormous effect on jobs in the state, Lummis said. The Natural Resources Committee is a "longstanding appointment position for lawmakers from Wyoming said James King, head of political science at the University of Wyoming. GOP leadership on the Natural Resources Crjmmtt-tee allowed Lummis to retain her seniority after the two-year departure. This will give her abetter opportunity to rise up the ranks and chair surxmrnittees, King said. On the appropriations com-mtttee, she was only a junior member.

"It's no surprise," King sddofLummis'move. Please see WSSXUl Obama; Boehner meet to discuss budget Obama won re-election after campaigning on raising tax rates on the wealthy might not be wise. "There is a growing group of folks looking at this and realizing that we don't have a lot of cards as tt relates to the tax issue before year end," Corker told "Fox News Sunday." If Republicans agree to Obama's plan to increase rates on the top 2 percent of Americans, Corker added, "the focus men shifts to entitle-' mentsandmaybeitputsusinaplace where we actually cando something that realty saves tie nation." Besides getting tax hikes through the Republican-dominated House, Corker's proposal faces another hurdle: Democrats havent been receptive to GOP proposals on the entitlement programs. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin, on Sunday was skeptical about proposals to increase the eligibility age for Medicare from 65 to 67. By ANNE FLAHERTY and JUJE MCE The Associated Press WASHINGTON President Barack Obama and House Speaker John Boehner met Sunday at the White House to discuss the ongo-ing negotiations over the impending "fiscal cliff," the first meeting between just the two leaders since Election Day.

Spokesmen for both Obama and Boehner said they agreed to not release details of the conversation, but emphasized that the lines of communication remain open. The meeting comes as the White House and Congress try to break an impasse over finding a way to stop a combination of automatic tax increases and spending cuts scheduled to kick in at the beginning of next year. Obama met in November with Boehner, as well as Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and House Minority Leader Nancy PekwLThe entitlement programs. The comments by Bob Corker of Tennessee a fiscal conservative who has been gaining stature in the Senate as a pragmatic deal broker puts new pressure on Boehner and other Republican leaders to rethink their long-held assertion that even the very rich shouldn't see their rates go up next year. GOP leaders have argued that the revenue gained by hiking the top two tax rates would be trivial tp the deficit, and that any tax hike hurts job creation.

But Corker said insisting on that red line especially since president spoke with Reid andPe-losi on Friday. Obama has been pushing higher tax rates on the wealthiest Americans as one way to reduce the deficit a position Boehner and other House Republicans have been steadfastly against Republi' cans are demanding steeper cuts in costly government entitlement programs Uke Medicare and Social Security. One GOP senator said Sunday that Senate Republicans, would probably agree to higher tax rates on the wealthiest Americans if tt meant getting a chance to overhaul Index Weathcjv Kr31; Advisers Letters A9 Public record A7 A3 B8-12 Obituaries Bl The Grouch What do you do when you're branded and you know you're a cow? Mil 18134'4274 4. ill? 11 Ilinili' UJ 'Mil.