President Obama telephoned and urged House Speaker John Boehner to bring to a vote the two-month extension  for the payroll tax cut  that the Senate has already passed.

White House spokesman Jay Carney called the vote the only way to give both sides time to complete work on a full year-extension of the payroll tax cut.

"The president reiterated the need and his commitment to work with Congress to extend the payroll tax cut for the entire year," Carney said, reading from a prepared statement. "The fact that the short-term bipartisan compromise passed by almost the entire Senate is the only option to ensure that middle-class families aren't hit with a tax hike in 10 days."  

Obama also phoned Senate Majority leader Harry Reid to reaffirm his committment to negotiate a year-long deal.