–House Speaker: House Will Defeat Senate Bill, Seek Compromise
–Rep. Boehner: Senate Should Come Back To DC, Negotiate New Plan
–Rep. Cantor: House To Hold Series of Votes Related To Payroll Tax Tues

By John Shaw

WASHINGTON (MNI) – House Speaker John Boehner said Monday evening
that the House will vote Tuesday to defeat the Senate’s 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.

At a briefing after a two and a half hour meeting with House
Republicans, 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.

“Let’s solve the problem now,” Boehner said.

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.

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor said that the House will vote
Tuesday on several measures related to the payroll tax cut issue: a
resolution to disapprove of the Senate bill, a resolution to send
several House members to a House-Senate conference committee to
negotiate a final bill, and a resolution expressing the House’s support
for a bill that Republicans passed last week in the lower chamber.

The Senate approved Saturday on an 89-to-10 vote a payroll tax-cut
package that Senate Majority Leader Harry 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.

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.

The White House and most congressional Democrats oppose the plan,
saying it was a partisan bill that includes controversial items such as
the Keystone XL pipeline provision.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said earlier 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.

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

[TOPICS: M$U$$$,MFU$$$,MCU$$$]