Politics & Government
Republican Leaders Stall on Tax Break, Jobless Benefits Bill
Americans could be taking home less in their paychecks come January 1 unless the House and Senate agree on bill aiming to extend SSI tax breaks, unemployment benefits.
Tuesday morning, House Republicans voted down a bill 229-193 that would have extended up to $1,000 in Social Security payroll tax breaks for many Americans and would have helped jobless Americans who are looking for work.
Both the House and the senate have been battling over two different versions of the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2011.
The latest action by the House calls for the establishment of a committee for both chambers to hammer out a compromise.
The original bill called for extending the benefits for a full year startng January. The bill rejected by House GOP members was an Senate-amended version of H.R 3630 calling for only a two-month extension of said benefits, which included preventing nearly 30 percent in cuts to Medicare physician payment rates.
Last week, the original piece of legislation passed in the House by a vote of 234-193.
The Senate passed the amended bill 89-10 on Dec. 17.
Rep. David Dreier (R-26th District), who represents many foothill cities including Glendora, was quoted last week on TheHill.com saying the provisions in the bill were real reforms.
"The idea of saying that we want to encourage those who are unemployed to move towards a GED does not seem to me to be a poison pill," Dreier said. The GED provision. which was one of the reforms the bill would include, was allegedly opposed by Democrats. "The idea of saying that we should have drug testing … so that people who are receiving these unemployment benefits are not using those resources to purchase drugs is obviously not a poison pill."
Republicans claimed too much uncertainty was left with the amended bill during a time of great economic instability, while Democrats charged Republican leaders were standing in the way of helping Americans receive relief when needed the most.
House GOP members decided Monday night to postpone voting on the amended version to adopt a rule allowing the bill to go into conference with the Senate to discuss the payroll provision.
If headway is not made and a bill is not approved by the end of December, the Social Security payroll tax would revert back to its 6.2 percent rate by January 1, 2012.
