Courtesy of ZeroHedge. View original post here.
Update: Payroll tax extension vote fails, as expected:
HOUSE HAS VOTES TO REJECT SENATE TAX PLAN; VOTE CONTINUING
Watch as the house votes on the Senate proposed two-month payroll tax extension, coupled with a motion to go to conference.
From C-Span:
The U.S. House today will consider and vote on four separate items related to the payroll tax holiday that has dominated debate on Capitol Hill for the better part of the month. The bill Senators passed over the weekend, which would have extended the payroll tax cut for two months, was rejected by House Republicans during a long party meeting on Monday.
Members won’t event vote on the Senate bill by itself. Their four votes are: to disagree with Senate’s language; a motion to go to conference with the Senate over that disagreement; a reaffirmation of support for the original House payroll tax bill, and a motion to instruct conferees offered by the Democrats.
House GOP leaders said most of their members would insist on the one-year payroll tax cut extension passed by the House. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) said publicly that he would not bring the Senate back to negotiate again over the bill.
Reid said in a statement, “My House colleagues should be clear on what their vote means today. If Republicans vote down the bipartisan compromise negotiated by Republican and Democratic leaders, and passed by 89 senators including 39 Republicans, their intransigence will mean that in ten days, 160 million middle class Americans will see a tax increase, over two million Americans will begin losing their unemployment benefits, and millions of senior citizens on Medicare could find it harder to receive treatment from physicians."
The Speaker said that the Senate bill "kicks the can down the road and creates uncertainty for small businesses and the economy."
After passing the compromise bill by a vote of 89-10, the Senate went into recess, with a series of pro forma sessions scheduled until the full Senate reconvenes on Monday, Jan. 23.
However, to avoid a Dec. 31 deadline when the payroll tax holiday expires, both chambers must reconcile their differences over the bill.
In his daily press briefing, White House spokesman Jay Carney told reporters the payroll tax cut was President Obama’s "number one priority." The President earlier had expressed support for the Senate compromise.
The White House said Sunday "If House Republicans refuse to pass this bipartisan bill to extend the payroll tax cut," the White House warned, "there will be a significant tax increase on 160 million hardworking Americans in 13 days that would damage the economy and job growth."
Under the Senate-passed measure, the payroll tax rate would stay reduced until February. The deal also includes the so-called "doc fix" which sets reimbursement rates for Medicare providers, a two month extension of unemployment insurance, and language relating to the construction of the Keystone XL pipeline from Canada to the U.S.
