Obama, Senate Democrats rally for benefits extension
WASHINGTON -- President Obama and Senate Democrats appealed to House Republicans on Wednesday to return to Washington and approve a two-month extension of benefits for American workers before they expire Dec. 31. The House GOP remains opposed to a short-term patch despite mounting opposition to the strategy, even from within the party.
Obama appealed personally to House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, in a telephone call, and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., sent the speaker a letter calling on him to reconvene the House, which adjourned Tuesday, to approve the Senate-approved two-month extension of a payroll tax cut and unemployment benefits affecting millions of Americans.
House Republicans resisted those pleas, instead calling on the Senate to negotiate a one-year extension of the benefits package. In his letter to Boehner, Reid noted that agreement on a one-year extension eluded lawmakers ahead of the Christmas holiday and that it was unlikely an agreement could be reached before they were set to expire.
"There remain differences between our parties over how to fund and implement these programs that will take longer than a few days to reconcile," Reid wrote.
The Senate settled on a short-term patch before leaving town for the year because the two parties could not agree on how to pay for the one-year extension, and Senate leaders agreed to return to it when Congress returns in January. Republicans continue to seek offsets for the estimated $200 billion cost of a one-year extension, such as a pay freeze for federal workers, that Democrats do not support.
The $33 billion, two-month plan extends a payroll tax cut for roughly 160 million American workers, benefits for the long-term unemployed and Medicare payments for doctors. It has broad support, but the debate is centered on the length of the extension and how to pay for it.
House Republicans showed no sign of backing down despite a growing chorus of intraparty concern that the GOP has over-played its hand. The Wall Street Journal editorial page, which traditionally supports Republican policy positions, sharply criticized House Republicans in a Wednesday editorial for giving Obama the upper-hand and advised the party to "cut their losses" and extend the payroll tax cut quickly.
At least eight GOP senators have publicly questioned their House counterparts for refusing to accept a short-term extension. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., tweeted that the WSJ editorial calling the House strategy a "fiasco" was "right on the mark."
Steve Bell, an ex-aide to former senator Pete Domenici, R-N.M., and a budget expert at the Bipartisan Policy Center, expressed concern that the House GOP has muddled the tax debate and fed in to the public's frustration with Washington.
"There's just been too much brinkmanship, and that is clearly hurting the Republican brand more than it's hurting the Democratic brand and it's given a very good campaign issue to the president," Bell said.
Boehner brushed off a question Wednesday about internal party criticisms that House Republicans were hurting the party on economic issues.
"Listen, we are the party of lower taxes for the American people," he said, "We have fought for lower taxes for the 21 years that I've been in this Congress, and we're going to continue to be the party of lower taxes."
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