–House Speaker: House Should Defeat Senate Bill, Negotiate Compromise
–Shouldn’t Be ‘That Difficult’ To Forge Year-Long Deal
–‘It’s Time To Stop This Nonsense’
–House To Vote Monday Evening On Senate’s Payroll Tax-Cut Extension

By John Shaw

WASHINGTON (MNI) – House Speaker John Boehner said Monday that he
still opposes 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, Boehner said the House will vote Monday evening on
the Senate plan and added that the House should defeat the measure and
then enter into formal talks with Senate leaders on a compromise
package.

“It is time for us to do our work,” Boehner said.

The House vote on the Senate payroll tax-cut plan will occur Monday
at about 6:30 p.m.

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.

“It’s time to end this nonsense,” Boehner said.

Boehner said that Congress should be able to forge a one year
bipartisan agreement,

“I don’t think it’s going to be that difficult to come to an
agreement,” he said.

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.

Under the bill the Senate passed and the House will consider
Monday, a construction permit for Keystone pipeline will go forward
within 60 days unless the president determines that the pipeline is not
in the U.S.’s national interest.

At his briefing, Boehner touted the payroll tax cut package that
the House approved last week on a mostly party line vote.

The House approved last Tuesday the 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 opposed the plan,
saying it was a partisan bill that includes controversial items such as
the Keystone XL pipeline provision.

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

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