Payroll tax cut accord forged for 2012
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WASHINGTON -- Congressional negotiators reached a deal Thursday that extends a $1 billion federal payroll tax break through the end of the year, staves off a cut in Medicare payments to doctors, and ensures up to 99 weeks of benefits for the unemployed in states hit hardest by the recession.
The provisions would be paid for through a mix of cuts to other areas and increased revenue from opening up portions of the broadcast spectrum to wireless companies, not the additional tax on millionaires that Democrats wanted.
The deal came after months of negotiation in public and private meetings that explored -- but ultimately did not incorporate -- educational and drug-testing requirements for recipients of unemployment benefits.
The bill would assure a continued tax cut for 160 million workers and jobless benefits for several million others, delivering top election-year priorities to President Barack Obama and edging a white-hot political battle a big step closer to resolution.
"It's a fair agreement and one that I support," House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, told reporters Thursday, "but let's be honest: This is an economic relief package, not a bill that's going to grow the economy and create jobs."
The plan now heads to the full House and Senate for votes.
One top negotiator, Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., said leaders were anticipating pushing the legislation through Congress today.
Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa., is a member of the bipartisan conference committee that worked on the deal and he was especially involved in the provision to extend an expiring tax break that reduces workers' payroll tax obligation from 6.2 percent of salary to 4.2 percent. For a worker earning $50,000 a year, the break amounts to about $1,000 annually.
Constituents spoke up and said "they expect us to go come together and reach bipartisan agreement ... on issues that are consequential to their bottom line," Mr. Casey said. "People are living lives of struggle and sacrifice."
In December, House Republicans refused to back a bipartisan Senate bill providing a two-month extension of the tax cuts and jobless benefits while bargainers completed a yearlong deal. Within days, they retreated under a barrage of criticism.
First Published February 17, 2012 12:00 am
