–House To Vote On Several Motions Related To Payroll Tax-Cut Package
–House Expected To Reject Senate Bill, Seek House-Senate Conference
–House GOP Leaders Urge Senate To Come Back To DC, Negotiate New Plan
–Congressional Democrats Say House GOP Set To Kill Bipartisan Deal

By John Shaw

WASHINGTON (MNI) – The House is expected to vote later in the day
to reject a Senate compromise plan that gives a two month extension to
last year’s payroll tax cut, renews unemployment insurance benefits and
prevents a sharp cut in doctor payments under Medicare.

The House is poised to defeat the Senate plan in a complex series
of votes that are scheduled to conclude by mid-afternoon Tuesday.

After approving a rule that will govern the House floor
procedures, the House will then vote on a motion to disapprove of the
Senate bill and seek a House-Senate conference committee to negotiate a
final bill.

The House will also vote on a Democratic motion to instruct the
so-called conferees on what the final bill should like and then a
Republican motion to support the version of the payroll package that
House Republicans have drafted.

The net result of these votes will be that the House will reject
the Senate bill, seeking to bring Senate leaders back to Washington to
negotiate a compromise.

But Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid continues to insist that the
Senate passed a bipartisan compromise plan Saturday and he will not
enter into yet another round of talks with the GOP.

At a briefing Monday night, House Speaker John Boehner said that
House Republicans have sufficient votes to defeat the Senate bill
Tuesday. He said that once this occurs, House and Senate negotiators
should convene in Washington and “stay here and get the job done.”

Boehner said that a short-term extension of the payroll tax cut and
the short-term renewal of other provisions will not help the American
economy.

Boehner said Congress should pass a one-year payroll tax cut
extension package, adding that a two-month renewal just creates
additional “uncertainty” for the economy.

The Senate Saturday approved on an 89-to-10 vote a payroll tax cut
package that Reid and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell negotiated.

Senate leaders were unable to reach a broad agreement that would
have funded the package for a full year, so they agreed to extend
various programs for two months.

The scaled-back package would cost about $40 billion and would be
paid for by higher fees that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac charge to
mortgage home lenders.

Reid said Monday that he will not call back the Senate back to
session this year to resume negotiations on the payroll tax cut issue.

Reid said that he and McConnell negotiated a compromise package
that was “requested” by Boehner and approved by nearly 90 senators
including several dozen Senate Republicans.

The House approved last Tuesday a Republican-drafted package to
extend last year’s payroll tax cut. The House GOP plan was approved on a
234 to 193 vote.

The House Republican package would extend for one year the current
4.2% payroll tax rate for employees and renew unemployment insurance
benefits for workers who have been unemployed for more than six months.
The plan would extend for two years the so-called “doc fix” to prevent
Medicare payments to doctors from being cut by more than 27%.

The House GOP plan would also remove barriers to construction of
the Keystone XL project and delay a new pollution standard for
industrial boilers.

The House GOP package would cost about $195 billion, with about
$120 billion of the cost coming from the payroll tax cut extension. The
package is paid for by a host of spending savings including minor
adjustments to the Social Security and Medicare programs and fees
imposed on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. It would also freeze the salaries
of civilian federal workers through 2013.

** Market News International Washington Bureau: (202) 371-2121 **

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