In a dramatic reversal, House GOP leaders said Monday they?ll attempt this week to pass a 10-month extension of the payroll tax holiday without saying how they?d pay for it.
Republicans say it?s not their first choice, but they are trying to insulate themselves from accusations they are holding up a tax break for more than 100 million Americans.
Continue ReadingHouse leaders said they intend to separate the payroll tax from other key elements of the package ? a proposed extension of jobless benefits and forestalling a rate cut for for doctors who treat Medicare patients. A House-Senate conference committee can continue their negotiations over those provisions separately, the GOP leaders said.
Meanwhile, the leaders would forge ahead with a standalone payroll bill, bringing it to the floor as early as Wednesday, sources say. GOP leaders might try to pass the tax extension under suspension of the rules, a method that needs two-thirds majority to pass.
House Republicans will meet both Tuesday and Wednesday in closed session to discuss strategy.
The move is a sharp departure from the GOP?s deficit reduction mantra. House Republican leaders ? including Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio), Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) and Whip Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) ? have argued for months that the payroll tax holiday should be offset with spending cuts. That?s because the revenue from the tax directly supports Social Security, which they argue is insolvent.
Making the move all the more striking is the fact that the party spent much of last year battling Democrats over spending cuts ? a standoff that led the government, on different occasions, to the brink of shutting down and defaulting on its debt.
Extending the payroll tax cut could add $100 billion to the deficit.
Republicans say they were forced to take this path because Democrats are ?stonewalling.?
?If Democrats continue to refuse to negotiate in good faith, Republicans may schedule this measure for House consideration later this week pending a conversation with our members,? the three leaders said in a joint statement. ?Democrats? refusal to agree to any spending cuts in the conference committee has made it necessary for us to prepare this fallback option to protect small business job creators and ensure taxes don?t go up on middle class workers.?
It?s not at all clear that the House Republican Conference, which returns to Washington on Tuesday, will go along. And the early review from Republican senators was not positive.
Freshmen Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) denounced the move as ?distressing.?
Democrats will have to decide whether to decouple the Medicare reimbursement rate and jobless benefits from the payroll tax holiday. Some Republicans have said jobless benefits should expire, and the two sides have not yet agreed on a plan for the so-called ?doc fix.?
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