House GOP leaders aim to extend payroll tax cut
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WASHINGTON -- Hesitant to be seen as holding up a payroll tax break for American workers, House Republican leaders will put forward a new proposal to extend the tax cut -- giving up, for now, on the GOP-led requirement that it must be paid for, with talks on a compromise with Democrats having stalled.
House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, and other leaders said their backup plan could come for a vote as soon as this week, as Congress struggles to find common ground before the tax break expires Feb. 29. Keeping the tax holiday is President Barack Obama's top legislative priority.
"This is not our first choice," Mr. Boehner and his leadership team, including Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., said in a joint statement. "But in the face of the Democrats' stonewalling and obstructionism, we are prepared to act to protect small businesses and our economy from the consequences of Washington Democrats' political games."
Republicans are seeking to shift the debate on the tax break for 160 million working Americans. Last year's showdown left them badly battered in the polls as they insisted that the tax break be paid for with cuts elsewhere in the budget -- and some Republicans said the tax cut was not a worthwhile benefit.
The new GOP proposal would allow the tax break to continue without having yet resolved the tough decisions over how to pay for the $160 billion package -- a decision that could rile fiscal conservatives within Mr. Boehner's right flank who insist on keeping deficits low. Negotiations under the GOP proposal would continue.
Democrats welcomed the overture as a "major breakthrough." A Democratic aide familiar with the talk said, "Send it on over."
First Published February 14, 2012 12:00 am
