A payroll tax-cut extension for workers is in jeopardy because of disagreements between leaders of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives over how to proceed before the tax break expires on Dec. 31.
The House will hold votes tonight to reject a Senate-backed bill that would extend the two-percentage-point payroll tax cut for two months, Speaker John Boehner said today. If the bill doesn’t pass, the House will then appoint members to a conference committee that would work out differences between the House and Senate.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is showing no interest in a conference committee. The Nevada Democrat forged an agreement last week with Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell and said today negotiations won’t resume until the House passes that deal.
“Senator McConnell and I negotiated a compromise at Speaker Boehner’s request,” Reid said in a statement. “I will not reopen negotiations until the House follows through and passes this agreement that was negotiated by Republican leaders and supported by 90 percent of the Senate.”
Tensions are escalating after the Senate passed the two- month deal in an 89-10 vote on Dec. 17, with the understanding that it would move quickly through the House this week. That optimism faded yesterday when Boehner said a two-month deal isn’t enough and that lawmakers should instead focus on extending the tax break through 2012.
Read More on www.bloomberg.com
No comments:
Post a Comment