–Senate Majority Leader Says GOP Has Blocked Four Dem Jobs Plans
–Sen. Reid: Dem Plan Would Impose A ‘Tiny Surtax’ on Wealthy
–Senate Minority Leader McConnell: Senate Should Pass House GOP Plan
–Sen. McConnell: Should Extend Payroll Tax Cut ‘Without Theatrics’

By John Shaw

WASHINGTON (MNI) – Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Senate
Minority Leader Mitch McConnell began this week as they ended last week:
battling over legislation to extend last year’s payroll tax cut.

In back-to-back speeches on the Senate floor Monday, Reid and
McConnell took shots at the other party and questioned its sincerity
about passing legislation to strengthen the economy.

Speaking first, Reid said that Senate Republicans have blocked four
Democratic proposals in recent weeks that would have boosted job growth.
He said Republican opposition was due to the fact that the bills would
have imposed a “tiny surtax on a tiny fraction” of the nation’s
wealthiest individuals.

Reid said “every shred of evidence” disputes Republican claims that
this tax hike would hurt the economy or slow job growth.

In response, McConnell urged the Senate to take up and “pass
without delay” a House Republican package that 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%.

McConnell said passing this bill would allow Congress to “close out
the year on a bipartisan note.”

McConnell said that the bill should be approved “without any more
theatrics.”

The Senate GOP leader praised several features of the bill that are
most objectionable to Democrats. The House GOP plan would remove
barriers to construction of the Keystone XL project and delay a new
pollution standard for industrial boilers.

McConnell said these provisions would create jobs.

Last week, the Senate’s stalemate on extending the payroll tax cut
continued as Republicans blocked a Democratic plan and Democrats blocked
a Republican plan.

Under Senate rules, motions to consider the Democratic and
Republican payroll tax cut extension plans required 60 votes.

The Senate Democratic plan got 50 votes while the Republican plan
got only 22 votes. Both fell well short of the requisite 60 votes.

The Senate Democratic plan would cost about $180 billion and would
extend the payroll tax cut for a year. It would be paid for by a surtax
of 1.9% on individual income over $1 million that would be applied in
2013 and expire in a decade. The plan also secures $38 billion by
increasing fees on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Last year, the White House and Congress agreed on a tax cut package
that included reducing for one year the employee-paid share of the
Social Security tax from 6.2 percent to 4.2 percent.

The Senate Democratic plan would have reduced the employee payroll
tax to 3.1 percent.

The Senate Republican plan would have extended last year’s payroll
tax cut for a year and would have funded it by various entitlement
savings and with a freeze on federal salaries and hiring.

Congressional leaders have said they hope to adjourn for the year
on Friday. But the deadlock on the payroll tax cut extension could push
back this adjournment date.

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

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