December 14, 2011 5:10 AM
- Text
1. Payroll tax cut row threatens gov't shutdown
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., (Center) holds a news conference about extending the payroll tax cut with Senate Majority Whip Richard Durbin (Left) and Sen. Robert Casey at the U.S. Capitol, Dec. 7, 2011 in Washington. (Getty)
(CBS/AP) WASHINGTON - A Republican payroll tax cut bill that sailed through the House despite a White House veto threat is dead on arrival in the Senate, and it will soon be time for talks on a final package, the Senate's top Democrat says.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., made the remarks Tuesday shortly after the House used a near-party line 234-193 vote to approve the measure. The bill has drawn nearly universal Democratic opposition because it would force work to begin on the 1,700-mile-long Keystone XL oil pipeline, which President Obama would rather postpone, and would trim federal spending without forcing the wealthy to contribute as much as Democrats want.
The measure would keep 160 million workers from seeing their payroll tax jump on Jan. 1 from this year's 4.2 percent back to its normal level of 6.2 percent — a $1,000 difference for a family making $50,000. It would also renew expiring extra benefits for long-term jobless people and head off a cut in doctors' Medicare reimbursements, a reduction that could prompt some to stop seeing elderly patients who use that program.
Reid says he will schedule a vote shortly on the House-passed bill to underscore its irrelevance — a vote that should start the clock ticking on what stands as the year's final, high-stakes partisan faceoff.
"It was dead before it got to the Senate," Reid said of the House legislation. "The Senate will not pass it. The sooner we demonstrate that, the sooner we can begin serious discussions on how to keep taxes from going up on middle-class Americans."
But the payroll measure isn't the only one lawmakers plan to tackle before beginning their year-end vacation, presumably before Christmas.
Bipartisan lawmakers have reached agreement on a $1 trillion measure financing scores of government agencies through next September, a bill that would avert a federal shutdown this weekend when temporary funding expires.
Democrats, though, are refusing to let the legislation move through Congress until the two parties broker a deal on the payroll tax measure. Democrats hope that will build pressure on Republicans to quickly reach agreement on the payroll tax bill, a tactic House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, called "outrageous."
Boehner taunted Senate Democrats after the House passed its payroll tax legislation.
"The Senate can take up our bill, they can pass it, they can amend it, they can move their own bill," he told reporters, standing beside a video clock counting down the seconds until the payroll tax boost that would otherwise occur Jan. 1. "But it is time for the Senate to act. Democrats who run the United States Senate can't continue to hide and sit on the sidelines."
Boehner also said that when the Senate acts, "we'll begin to then take a look at where we can find common ground
Top 3 T.V News Stories
1) The hazing at Florida A and M band member is under investigation. The death of Robert Campion is continuing under investigation, by police and the University. Although many say the school was aware of the hazing rituals held by the prestigious band because many reports have been made to the authorities at the school. Champion's parents say the school has failed to take these matters seriously, and their son has paid the price. The investigation will continue.
2) The 2012 Presidential candidates are accusing each other of being part of the housing crisis that we now face. Mitt Romney called Gingrich unreliable, and his actions with Freddie Mac very questionable. Gingrich made a great deal of money acting as an adviser to Freddie Mack. He made 1.6 million dollars while working for Freddie Mack. Gingrich points out that Romney also made money off the deals made by the mortgage moguls.
3) Due to the slow economy and unemployment rate, many families have found themselves homeless. Many families have lost jobs that once supported their families and their homes and are now living in tent cities. In California they are calling them slab cities, where the homeless have gathered in parks and in the desserts to live in tents and huts. Slab city gets its name from the cement slab it sits. The slab is left training camp for the military and is publicly owned. Nearly 4 million American homes have been lost to foreclosure since the beginning of the recession.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., made the remarks Tuesday shortly after the House used a near-party line 234-193 vote to approve the measure. The bill has drawn nearly universal Democratic opposition because it would force work to begin on the 1,700-mile-long Keystone XL oil pipeline, which President Obama would rather postpone, and would trim federal spending without forcing the wealthy to contribute as much as Democrats want.
The measure would keep 160 million workers from seeing their payroll tax jump on Jan. 1 from this year's 4.2 percent back to its normal level of 6.2 percent — a $1,000 difference for a family making $50,000. It would also renew expiring extra benefits for long-term jobless people and head off a cut in doctors' Medicare reimbursements, a reduction that could prompt some to stop seeing elderly patients who use that program.
Reid says he will schedule a vote shortly on the House-passed bill to underscore its irrelevance — a vote that should start the clock ticking on what stands as the year's final, high-stakes partisan faceoff.
"It was dead before it got to the Senate," Reid said of the House legislation. "The Senate will not pass it. The sooner we demonstrate that, the sooner we can begin serious discussions on how to keep taxes from going up on middle-class Americans."
But the payroll measure isn't the only one lawmakers plan to tackle before beginning their year-end vacation, presumably before Christmas.
Bipartisan lawmakers have reached agreement on a $1 trillion measure financing scores of government agencies through next September, a bill that would avert a federal shutdown this weekend when temporary funding expires.
Democrats, though, are refusing to let the legislation move through Congress until the two parties broker a deal on the payroll tax measure. Democrats hope that will build pressure on Republicans to quickly reach agreement on the payroll tax bill, a tactic House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, called "outrageous."
Boehner taunted Senate Democrats after the House passed its payroll tax legislation.
"The Senate can take up our bill, they can pass it, they can amend it, they can move their own bill," he told reporters, standing beside a video clock counting down the seconds until the payroll tax boost that would otherwise occur Jan. 1. "But it is time for the Senate to act. Democrats who run the United States Senate can't continue to hide and sit on the sidelines."
Boehner also said that when the Senate acts, "we'll begin to then take a look at where we can find common ground
Top 3 T.V News Stories
1) The hazing at Florida A and M band member is under investigation. The death of Robert Campion is continuing under investigation, by police and the University. Although many say the school was aware of the hazing rituals held by the prestigious band because many reports have been made to the authorities at the school. Champion's parents say the school has failed to take these matters seriously, and their son has paid the price. The investigation will continue.
2) The 2012 Presidential candidates are accusing each other of being part of the housing crisis that we now face. Mitt Romney called Gingrich unreliable, and his actions with Freddie Mac very questionable. Gingrich made a great deal of money acting as an adviser to Freddie Mack. He made 1.6 million dollars while working for Freddie Mack. Gingrich points out that Romney also made money off the deals made by the mortgage moguls.
3) Due to the slow economy and unemployment rate, many families have found themselves homeless. Many families have lost jobs that once supported their families and their homes and are now living in tent cities. In California they are calling them slab cities, where the homeless have gathered in parks and in the desserts to live in tents and huts. Slab city gets its name from the cement slab it sits. The slab is left training camp for the military and is publicly owned. Nearly 4 million American homes have been lost to foreclosure since the beginning of the recession.
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