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(RTTNews) – While a Senate bill extending the payroll tax cuts for two months attracted support from both sides of the aisle, House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, predicted that the members of the House will reject the bill in a vote Monday night.
Boehner claimed that the two-month extension of the payroll tax cuts would create uncertainty for job creators and accused Senate Democratic leaders of punting the problem into next year.
"The idea that tax policy can be done two months at a time is the kind of activity that we see here in Washington that's really put our economy off its tracks," Boehner said at a press conference. "Last week both chambers worked together to pass a full-year bill to fund our government," he added. "And I don't think this issue is any different. It's time for Congress to do its work. No more kicking the can down the road."
The Senate voted 89 to 10 to pass the two-month extension on Saturday after failing to reach an agreement on a one-year extension of the tax cuts, which are due to expire on December 31st.
Thirty-nine Republicans joined with 50 Democrats in voting for the two-month extension, which also extends unemployment benefits and delays a mandated cut in pay for Medicare physicians.
However, Boehner said, "I expect that the House will disagree with the Senate amendment, and instead vote to formally go to conference – the formal process in which the House and Senate can resolve differences between the two chambers and between our two bills."
"When there's a disagreement between the two chambers we sit down in a conference and resolve those differences," he added. "And that's exactly what I believe the House will do."
Last week, the House passed a bill that included a one-year extension of the payroll cuts, although the bill was approved on a largely party-line vote.
In addition to extending the payroll tax cuts, the bill also extended unemployment benefits but reduced the maximum length from 99 weeks to 59 weeks. The legislation also avoided the mandated cut in pay for doctors that treat Medicare patients.
To offset the costs, the House bill would freeze pay for federal employees, repeal certain provisions of the health care reform law, boost federal fees, and raise Medicare premiums for wealthy seniors.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said a vote by the House against the Senate bill would mean 160 million middle class Americans will see a tax increase in ten days.
"This is a question of whether the House of Representatives will be able to fulfill the basic legislative function of passing an overwhelmingly bipartisan agreement, in order to protect the economic security of millions of middle-class Americans," Reid said.
He added, "Democratic and Republican leaders negotiated a compromise and Speaker Boehner should not walk away from it, putting middle-class families at risk of a thousand-dollar tax hike just because a few angry Tea Partiers raised their voices to the Speaker."
Reid said that he has always sought a one-year extension of the payroll tax cuts and said he would continue to negotiate a longer term extension after making sure that the cuts don't expire.
The payroll tax cuts reduced the tax to 4.2 percent from 6.2 percent, saving the average middle-class family about $1,000 a year.
http://www.rttnews.com/Content/PoliticalNews.aspx?Id=1784208&SM=1