–House Speaker Boehner: Wants To ‘Resolve’ Differences On Payroll
–Rep. Boehner: Urges Dems To ‘Work With Us’ on Payroll Cut Issue
–House Majority Leader Cantor: Differences ‘Not Very Great’
–House Minority Whip Says House GOP Is Derailing Bipartisan Agreement

By John Shaw

WASHINGTON (MNI) – In a carefully scripted photo opportunity
Wednesday, House Speaker John Boehner and House Majority Leader Eric
Cantor met with the eight lawmakers they have named to negotiate a final
payroll tax cut extension package and urged congressional Democrats and
the White House to work with the GOP to “resolve” their differences on a
payroll tax cut extension package.

In comments at the start of the meeting, Boehner urged Senate
leaders and the White House to “work with us” to draft a final agreement
on the payroll tax cut extension.

Cantor, in his remarks, said the differences that divide the two
sides are “not very great” and can be resolved relatively easily.

The two GOP leaders met with the eight House Republicans who they
named to a future House-Senate conference committee to negotiate a final
payroll tax cut extension bill.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi has not named any Democratic
lawmakers to this conference panel. The Senate has not even formally
agreed to hold such a conference.

After Boehner made his remarks, House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer and
Rep. Chris Van Hollen urged the House Republican leadership to pass the
compromise plan that was approved by the Senate Saturday.

“There is a bipartisan agreement,” Van Hollen said, referring to
the Senate passed bill.

“This is not a game. This is serious,” Hoyer said.

The House voted Tuesday to reject the Senate’s compromise bill that
would have given a two month extension to last year’s payroll tax cut,
renew unemployment insurance benefits and prevent a sharp cut in doctor
payments under Medicare.

The House also voted Tuesday to reaffirm its support of the
Republican package, which 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.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has said the Senate has already
passed a bipartisan compromise plan and he will not enter into yet
another round of talks with the GOP.

The Senate approved Saturday 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.

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

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