By Arun Kumar, IANS,
Washington : Some 160 million Americans face a payroll tax increase of an average $1,000 in the new year amid a tense standoff between President Barack Obama and Republican House Speaker John Boehner.
The Congress ran into an impasse over extending the payroll tax cut as the Republican-controlled House Tuesday passed a measure calling for more negotiations, and Boehner asked Obama to order the Senate back from its holiday break to take part in further talks.
Leaders in the Democratic-controlled Senate reject that idea, and Obama agreed with them, telling reporters in a previously unscheduled appearance that the House must approve a two-month extension passed by an 89-10 vote in the Senate.
“The bipartisan compromise that was reached on Saturday is the only viable way to prevent a tax hike on January 1,” Obama said. “It’s the only one.”
The House motion, passed Tuesday with no Democratic support on a 229-193 vote, expressed the chamber’s disagreement with the Senate plan and called for the dispute to be immediately taken up by a House-Senate conference committee-something already ruled out by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.
The resolution supported a yearlong extension of both the payroll tax cut and emergency federal unemployment benefits. House Republicans are also pushing for a new, two-year “doc fix,” or delay in significant scheduled pay cuts to Medicare physicians.
All three measures are set to expire Dec 31.
Meanwhile, House members headed out of Washington for their holiday break after legislative business ended Tuesday.
The Senate measure approved Saturday called for a two-month extension of the three measures to give both sides more time to negotiate.
(Arun Kumar can be contacted at [email protected])