A majority of the House agreed to a Republican motion to "order the previous question" -- thus ending debate and possibility of amendment -- on adoption of the rule (H Res 619) to provide for House floor consideration of a bill (HR 4227) that would extend for one year the current income exemptions from the alternative minimum tax (AMT). The AMT was created under President Nixon to prevent wealthy Americans and big corporations from using legitimate tax breaks to avoid paying income taxes altogether. Because it is not indexed for inflation, after three decades the number of taxpayers subject to the so-called alternative minimum tax (AMT) has exploded to include many in the middle class, far beyond the intended target group. And there is widespread support in both parties for a permanent restructuring of the 1969 law. The Republican motion was approved over the objections of progressives, who said the rulemaking had failed to take into account both opposing and complementary amendments sought by Democrats, including those designed to ensure that the temporary tax repeal would be offset with revenue increases elsewhere in the budget, specifically, by closing corporate tax "loopholes." The motion was agreed to 220-201 completely along party lines, with the result being Democrats were precluded from raising their amendments on the floor and engaging in debate on the merits of their proposals.