House rejects 2-month extension of payroll tax cut
WASHINGTON -- The Republican-controlled House on Tuesday rejected a Senate-approved two-month extension of a payroll tax cut and unemployment benefits to millions of Americans, raising the likelihood that both will expire on Dec. 31.
The House effectively adjourned for the year following the vote, and with the Senate out of town for the holiday, there is no resolution in sight on a legislative battle waged by House Republicans over the length of the benefits' extension. Both chambers can return to Washington at the call of party leaders if their is an agreement.
Republicans are seeking approval of a one-year extension, which the House already approved and which Senate leaders and the White House support in principle, but a final deal on how to pay for it remained out of reach with the clock ticking down. Before the Senate adjourned, Senators overwhelmingly approved a short-term patch with the intention of finding a longer term solution early next year, but House GOP leaders — at the strong urging of their rank-and-file — rejected the patch as bad economic policy.
On a largely party-line vote, 229-193, House Republicans instead voted to move to formal negotiations with the Senate. House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, tapped eight GOP House members to serve as negotiators for talks that, as of yet, do not exist. Democrats have rejected GOP efforts to start negotiations now, arguing that the best way to ensure that no Americans are affected by the fight in Washington is to approve a short-term extension.
"There's time to negotiate how we go further into the next year, but right now we have to remove all doubt that this tax cut will be there for the middle class," said Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.
President Obama on Tuesday appealed to Boehner to take up the Senate's short-term extension and continue negotiations next year. "Right now, the bipartisan compromise that was reached on Saturday is the only viable way to prevent a tax hike on Jan. 1," he said. "The issue right now is this: The clock is ticking. Time is running out. And if the House Republicans refuse to vote for the Senate bill … taxes will go up in 11 days."
Boehner rejected the president's request, and said key lawmakers will remain on call through the Christmas holiday. "Our negotiators are here, ready and able to work. Members of the leadership will be here, ready and able to work. We'll be available to do what needs to be done," he said.
If the current benefits expire, the impact will be immediate. The pay roll tax rate will rise from 4.2% to 6.2% affecting 160 million Americans, and about 2.2 million Americans receiving long-term unemployment benefits will see their checks stop by mid-February. Additionally, the Senate bill includes another short-term patch to prevent a Medicare payment drop to doctors who treat seniors.
Rep. Tom Cole, R-Okla., a former campaign chief for House Republicans, acknowledged that the impasse would do little to buffer the public's poor view of the institution.
"I don't think this is good for the reputation of Congress in general, but I do think sooner or later somebody's got to begin to break the Senate of some of these habits and help it become a more functional body. And the only appropriate way for us to do that is to insist on regular order," he said.
•Boehner op-ed, 9A
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