Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Wednesday that Senate leaders will push to block a proposed extension of payroll tax cuts, saying the Republican-backed measure does not have the backing of a majority of the upper chamber.
“Anything you pass with strictly Republican support fails over here,” Mr. Reid said in a statement. “In the Senate, we can’t pass anything unless we get Republican votes. It’s a fact of life.”
Mr. Reid, who attempted to bring the legislation to the Senate floor on Wednesday, encountered objections from Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Kentucky Republican, who is pushing for a spending measure that would allow the government to continue operating after December 16.
Mr. Reid later slammed his Republican counterpart, saying Mr. McConnell is “living in a world of non-reality” and that the Republican payroll tax cut plan passed Tuesday by the House was “dead on arrival” in the Senate.
Mr. McConnell shot back that Democrats wasted weeks of time with political “show votes” intended to bolster President Barack Obama’s re-election campaign.
“Quit wasting our time here in the Senate scoring points with the shutdown two days away,” said Mr. McConnell. “The last time I looked, Christmas is a week from Sunday. Time is a’wastin’.”
The measure, which passed the House late Tuesday, includes a controversial provision concerning the Keystone XL project. President Obama said Tuesday that he would veto any measure containing the provision, noting that lawmakers will remain in Washington until a deal is reached. The proposal would also trim federal spending without forcing the wealthy to contribute as much as Democrats want.
Meanwhile, House Speaker John Boehner urged Senate lawmakers to begin talks on reaching a compromise on the proposal. The Ohio Republican said Republicans in the House remain committed to reaching a deal before the holiday recess.
“The Senate can take up our bill, they can pass it, they can amend it, they can move their own bill,” said Mr. Boehner. “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.”
Mr. Reid has sought to push for a vote on the measure, which is likely to fail. A vote on the proposal would allow Senate lawmakers to forge a compromise before the upcoming holiday recess.
“The sooner we put this useless partisan charade behind us, the sooner we can negotiate a true bipartisan solution that protects middle-class workers” from a payroll tax increase, said Mr. Reid.
