For what seems longer than I can remember at this point I’ve been hearing about this middle class payroll tax cut. I believe the first I heard of this was back in September when President Obama was trying to push for his jobs bill. “Pass this Bill” “Pass this Bill!” It seemed for a while, like everything that Obama is in favor for, House Republicans were not in favor of this Tax Cut. The media pundits would report that “Republicans have found a tax cut that they don’t like!” However, about a month ago a light appeared at the end of the tunnel. It looked like Republicans were finally coming around. They didn’t want our taxes to go up. They just weren’t sure how these tax cuts were going to be paid for. Fair enough, though it would’ve been nice if they put the same consideration into the Bush Tax Cuts.
This week the bill went before congress, and President Obama wanted it to go through alone, no added extras nothing else just the proposed Payroll tax bill. Enter the Keystone pipeline project. Which would build an oil Pipeline from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico. Republicans say it will create 20,000 jobs. Critics of the project say it will create less than 3,500 and less than 1,000 of those would be permanent. On Friday December 16, 2011 Congress voted to extend the Payroll tax cuts for 60 days so that 160 million middle class working class families won’t see their taxes go up by about $1,000 come January 1st. Although this was only putting a band aid on a bullet wound, many middle class working Americans collectively sighed that they wouldn’t have to sacrifice more than they already have. Some speculated that this agreement was reached so that members of Congress could go home and on to another vacation for the Holiday week, Neither here nor there the pay roll tax would pass. That was until Sunday. Only two short days later the minds had been changed. John Boehner was on Meet the Press with David Gregory and stated that this 2 month extension of the payroll tax was “Kicking the can down the road.” and that if they were going to do this that they should do it entirely. As of today the statement was “They [Senate] produced a bill, The House disagrees.” And so it begins. The bill that Boehner could live with over the weekend he can longer live with today. Because Tea Party members of congress raised hell with him over the decision. Senator Harry Reid Issued a statement to Boehner, “Senator McConnell and I negotiated a compromise at Speaker Boehner‘s request… Speaker Boehner should not walk away from it, putting middle-class families at risk of a Thousand-Dollar tax hike just because a few angry Tea Partiers raised their voice to the speaker.”
The Tea Party Faction of the Republican Party is beginning to get so obstructionist that other Republicans are growing frustrated with them. So frustrated that Gov. Scott Brown (R-Mass) Issued this statement to House Republicans “The House Republicans’ plan to scuttle the deal to help middle-class families is irresponsible and wrong… we cannot allow rigid partisan ideology and unwillingness to compromise stand in the way of working together for the good of the American People.”
This bill was initially, was supported by 39 Republican Senators. Jay Carney stated that if all Democrats pass this bill it would take 25-30 Republicans 12% to vote yes and the bill would become law. What is being heard from the House Rules Committee is as of adjournment Monday night the bill wasn’t brought up for a vote, and would be brought up on Tuesday. Later reports suggest that the HRC is now punting the legislation and it will not be held for a vote on 12/20/2011 at all, they will instead vote on a measure to go to a conference with the senate instead. The Senate has suggested that they will not hold a conference since this measure has already been passed 89-10.
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