Senate Strikes Deal on Payroll Tax Cut – Vote Coming Saturday
EmailA deal has been struck between Senate leadership for a payroll tax cut plan.
The $30-40 billion plan calls for a two-month extension of payroll tax cut and extension of unemployment benefits.
There is an inclusion of the Keystone XL oil pipeline provision, a major win for Republicans.
The bill is fully paid for without tax hikes. The bill is paid for with fees from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The bill will require the Federal Housing Finance Agency to institute a basis point increase to guarantee fees imposed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac on lenders.
The Senate Democratic and Republican caucuses met tonight to be briefed by thier leaders.
Some Republican senators left their meeting quickly, happy with the inclusion of the Keystone oil pipeline.
The Senate will hold a vote on their payroll plan at 9 a.m. Saturday.
Leaving the Capitol tonight, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said the plan was “well received” among Republicans.
“I’m very optimistic,” McConnell said leaving tonight at the plan passing tomorrow in the Senate.
The Senate Democratic caucus broke up after 90 minutes and while most Democrats admitted that there are parts of the proposal that they don’t like, it seems that Democrats are confident they have the votes to pass this deal Saturday.
While the Democrats did get the payroll tax cut extension and the unemployment benefits extension, they had to make major concessions on the inclusion of the Keystone XL oil pipeline provision and the fact that the bill does not have any tax increase on millionaires.
“That’s the best that we could get,” Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said tonight.
It’s clear from the language out of Senate Democrats tonight that they believe they just bought themselves time and will have to fight the same issue in two months.
“We have a lot of ammunition,” Reid said of the looming next round. “We will not have the threat of a government shutdown in two months.”
“The fight is on,” Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said. “The leverage (Republicans) always had is always about shutting down the government, or not raising the debt ceiling. But now the fight is on payroll tax which is something where we have strength. People want the payroll tax reduction and if they are going to keep opposing it and opposing it and opposing it, it’s going to hurt them.”
“We have at least bought 60 days into the New Year and we live to fight another day,” said Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill.
Also, this is just a Senate deal. If and when the Senate passes this it will still need to be sold and passed in the House.
Both sides in the Senate were pushing for a longer, 11-month, payroll plan, but they could not agree on the way to pay for the bill.
Best Commencement Speeches of 2012 
Joe Biden Recalls Death of Wife, Daughter
I think Barry has been talking to Harry.
Posted by: newcountryman | December 16, 2011, 7:41 pm 7:41 pm
sounds like a pretty darn good deal to me. if obama veto s it it will show that he could care less about workers , the payroll tax holiday. and senoirs on medicare. it appears the senate finally did something for the good of the vast majority of the nation regardless of what obama had to say. i would be shocked if the house rejects this.we need this pipeline and canada s resources for our future and docs needed to get paid for medicare services or senoirs would not have received care other than through the emergancy room. it appears that there is hope for compromise or everyone just wants to go home. a good day for americans.
Posted by: catman | December 16, 2011, 7:52 pm 7:52 pm
I guess with the inclusion of the pipeline, some of Obama’s hard core environmentalist supporter’s heads are rotating full circle, spitting green vomit.
Posted by: newcountryman | December 16, 2011, 8:25 pm 8:25 pm
This is a disgusting deal. Obama caved completely, and so did the Senate on issues they swore to protect, and the democrats should be concerned the base will stay home in 2012.
Posted by: DJoyce | December 16, 2011, 9:18 pm 9:18 pm
“……the democrats should be concerned the base will stay home in 2012.” Cool!
Posted by: newcountryman | December 16, 2011, 9:54 pm 9:54 pm
Once again Democrats APPEASE Republicans. Time and time again. Republicans NEVER give an inch and why should they? It’s like bargaining with terrorists. Once you give in, they know you will do so again.
Posted by: BoboMcStevens | December 16, 2011, 9:56 pm 9:56 pm
That was stupid.
Posted by: Rick McDaniel | December 16, 2011, 10:04 pm 10:04 pm
Why does Obama hate it when the GOP tries to create thousands of new high paying jobs???
If the Keystone XL is not built soon Canada will just pipe the oil to their west coast and sell it to China!
Posted by: BIG JIMMY | December 16, 2011, 10:11 pm 10:11 pm
Yep, Obama Democrats caved. Actually agreed to create jobs and produce energy, not just destroy jobs and energy production.
Posted by: moron | December 16, 2011, 10:21 pm 10:21 pm
As far as I can see this is the FIRST time Harry Reid compromised with Republicans. Who’s the terrorist Bobo?
Posted by: newcountryman | December 16, 2011, 10:27 pm 10:27 pm
How many liberals heads are exploding right now?
Posted by: allen | December 16, 2011, 11:04 pm 11:04 pm
Can kicked down the road two months. Everybody gets to go home on a high note. A shutdown is out of the equation. Obama gets leadership points. The pipeline permit goes to the back burner for two months. See you around Valentine’s Day. Smooch smooch.
Posted by: sameagain | December 16, 2011, 11:52 pm 11:52 pm
The problem is that the pipeline add only 500 PERMANENT jobs AT BEST. Even Transcanada admits that. They bought their pipes from China and will sell the oil on the open market, so it won’t even go to the US.
Supporters of the GOP truly are useful idiots.
Posted by: BoboMcStevens | December 17, 2011, 1:14 am 1:14 am
NEWCOUNTRYMAN – How soon you forget. Bush tax cuts extended, Budget deal, pushes back clean air standards, etc. etc.
Also I wasn’t calling the GOP terrorists. I was saying it’s the same reason why you DON’T appease them.
Posted by: BoboMcStevens | December 17, 2011, 1:23 am 1:23 am
Did you see that “President Barack Obama is nominating a senior counselor to Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner to head a new government office set up to provide regulators with improved information to help prevent another financial crisis.”? Wasn’t that was the Frank-Dodd bill was for? Is that how you cut the cost of govt?
Posted by: deanbob | December 17, 2011, 8:46 am 8:46 am
Well of COURSE Republican politicians are no better than terrorists. They use the same damn tactics. Threaten to shut down the government, threaten to end unemployment for millions of unemployed, threaten to RAISE taxes on 160 million Americans. ALL in order to protect and coddle their wealthy corporate overlords. Frankly I’d rather deal with a real terrorist. They’re more trustworthy than a Republican politician………….
Posted by: Searambler | December 17, 2011, 8:55 am 8:55 am
As usual, the Republicans short-sightedness is truly cringe worthy. The bill only requires Obama to make a decision on permitting the pipeline within 60 days. He can easily decide “no, we need more time to finish the studies we need to do”. So go ahead and crow, Republicans, and fool yourselves into thinking you’ve ‘won’ something here…………
Posted by: Searambler | December 17, 2011, 9:00 am 9:00 am
For the bill to be a bill it took the Senate Democrats and Obama to sign the bill. Right?
Posted by: deanbob | December 17, 2011, 9:19 am 9:19 am
Heaven forbid the president sign a bill that may create some real shovel ready jobs (estimated from a low of 5,000 jobs to over 100K direct and indirect) – like the ones alleged to have been created for ~$800B (stimulus bill) rather than have no jobs and the oil go to China?
Posted by: deanbob | December 17, 2011, 9:24 am 9:24 am
“Heaven forbid the president sign a bill that may create some real shovel ready jobs (estimated from a low of 5,000 jobs to over 100K direct and indirect)” ————– TransCanada admitted those numbers were severely over-inflated. In their original paperwork filing in 2008, they estimated 3500-4200 jobs. And there was NO guarantee that they would hire US workers. Indirect jobs? Like what? Once the pipeline is built, they’ll need a small work force to maintain it. Not 100,000 workers……..
Posted by: Searambler | December 17, 2011, 10:05 am 10:05 am
For the bill to be a bill it took the Senate Democrats and Obama to sign the bill. Right? Posted by: deanbob | December 17, 2011, 9:19 am.
Ummm, no. It takes a simple majority in the House, and (today, anyway) 60 votes in the Senate to pass a bill. The president doesn’t write spending bills. Once the president signs a bill, it becomes a law. Maybe I don’t understand your question………….
Posted by: Searambler | December 17, 2011, 10:09 am 10:09 am
searambler wrote:”Frankly I’d rather deal with a real terrorist. They’re more trustworthy than a Republican politician………….”
.
Be careful what you wish for… with oBama and Holder funneling weapons to Mexican narco-terrorists and shutting down ANY enforcement of border security, it will happen sooner rather than later. Just make sure to put that sign in your front yard (Terrorists welcome, Republicans not)…. we know you talk the talk, let see if you walk the walk.
Posted by: Michelle Shu Jas | December 17, 2011, 10:15 am 10:15 am
SeaRambler…..” Indirect jobs? Like what? “…Are you playing dumb, forgot how to google….? You look it up. Ig you really don’t know, even you may be amazed by how many indirect jobs are spawned by each direct job created.
Posted by: deanbob | December 17, 2011, 10:41 am 10:41 am
As a candidate alleged constitutional scholar Obama was against indefinite detainment of US citizens arrest on US soil; then demanded that clause be added. Habeus Corpus – what’s that ????
Posted by: deanbob | December 17, 2011, 11:43 am 11:43 am
deanbob | December 17, 2011, 10:41 am post ——– LOL! No. I DID look it up. The jobs estimates from TransCanada and its flunkies have been wildly exaggerated, according to a plethora of other articles about it. I googled ‘indirect jobs from the keystone xl pipeline’. From one article: “TransCanada supplied data to the U.S. State Department showing no more than 2,500 to 4,650 temporary direct construction jobs over two years, and there is no substantiation for its related claim that KXL will create 20,000 direct U.S. construction and manufacturing jobs; Much of the line’s steel pipe has already been contracted for or manufactured. The steel came largely not from the U.S. but from India, and much of the steel for the rest the line will come from India or Russia; The API claim there will be 119,000 total (direct, indirect, and induced) jobs is based on a flawed and poorly documented Perryman Group study commissioned by TransCanada that wrongly includes more than $1 billion in spending and 10,000+ person-years of employment for a part of the project in Kansas and Oklahoma that is not part of KXL and has already been built; By sending tar sands products now supplying Midwest refineries to Gulf Coast refineries, KXL could increase the price of gas and diesel fuel in the Midwest. Such additional costs, estimated at $2 billion to $4 billion, could suppress other spending and further cost jobs.”
Posted by: Searambler | December 17, 2011, 11:50 am 11:50 am
deanbob | December 17, 2011, 11:43 am post ———- Are you referring to the Republican-written defense bill that passed the Republican-led House, then passed the Democrat-led Senate overwhelmingly, 86-13? You’re griping about that? Republicans wrote the damn thing. Google Hamdi v. Rumsfeld……..
Posted by: Searambler | December 17, 2011, 1:48 pm 1:48 pm