–House Defeats Democratic Motion To Approve Senate Compromise Plan
–House Votes Again To Back House GOP’s Payroll Tax Plan
–President Obama Scorches House GOP For ‘Brinksmanship’

By John Shaw

WASHINGTON (MNI) – In two largely symbolic votes that only
solidified the partisan House division on how to go forward on the
payroll tax cut extension package, the House voted Tuesday afternoon to
defeat a Democratic motion to revive a Senate compromise plan while
House Republicans passed a motion to endorse their package which had
already been approved by the House last week.

The two House votes were almost exclusively symbolic.

The House voted to reject a Democratic motion to revive the Senate
plan, on a 183-to-238 vote.

The House voted, 226 to 185, to reaffirm support of the House GOP
payroll tax cut plan.

Earlier in the day, the House voted 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 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.

House Speaker John Boehner said the House is right to insist on a
longer-term, one year plan. “We are going to insist on doing this the
right way,” Boehner said.

President Obama said Tuesday that the Senate’s compromise plan is
the “only viable way” to renew that payroll tax cut extension before
it expires on Jan. 1.

“Let’s not play brinksmanship,” Obama said.

“The clock is ticking. Time is running out,” the president said.

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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