Earlier this month, the House passed a bill that Democratic proponents say will save 23 million middle-class families from paying higher taxes. But President Bush is once again threatening to veto the bill as Congress continues to remain locked in a bipartisan stalemate.

Congressman Eliot Engel, in a statement, said he voted an “emphatic yes” on the Temporary Tax Relief Act of 2007, which was strongly opposed by House Republicans, but still managed to pass by a vote of 216 to 193 (roughly partisan lines).

Engel, who represents parts of Bronx, Westchester and Rockland counties, says the bill will help 38,240 families in his Congressional district. He is painting the passage of the bill as a victory for the middle-class and a blow to the ultra rich.   

“For the past few years, only the wealthiest Americans got real tax relief, thanks to the Republican-led Congress,” Engel said in a statement. “Now the new Democratic majority is working on behalf of the middle class.”

The bill would shield many middle class families from paying the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT), a lump sum that has caught up to many middle class families because it wasn’t marked to rise with inflation years ago. The Democratic bill would balance the lost revenue by eliminating tax-exemption loopholes for Wall Street big wigs.

Still, Bush says he wants the Iraq war funded before he signs off on any domestic spending bills, especially with a Democratic legislature vowing to limit war funds. Bush has already vetoed five bills this year, after only vetoing one during the last six years when Republicans controlled both the House and Senate.