This afternoon, the House GOP voted to effectively kill a bipartisan bill, passed by the Senate 89 – 10, that would extend the payroll tax cut, as well as unemployment insurance and the Medicare “doc-fix” for two months so that a longer term extension of these provisions could be negotiated. Employing a procedural maneuver, the House refused to allow a straightforward up-or-down vote on the bill, opting instead for a motion to go to conference that risks a tax increase for approximately 160 million Americans beginning January 1st. Congresswoman Niki Tsongas released the following statement.
“Today’s vote by the House majority is irresponsible and needlessly risks the economic security of nearly every household in the country. Instead of allowing a vote on a bipartisan measure which was overwhelmingly approved by the Senate, is supported by the President, and was negotiated with the participation of House leaders specifically to avoid this risk, the House GOP voted to appoint a committee to further debate the matter mere days before Massachusetts families are due to see a $1,400 tax increase per household.
“Families that have already planned their budgets for the New Year in order to put food on the table, send their kids to college, and pay heating bills this winter are now left to wonder how they will make ends meet. Millions of seniors will not be able to see the doctor of their choice due to an impending Medicare reimbursement rate cut that today’s vote all but ensures. Furthermore, a tax increase of this magnitude will imperial our economic recovery and will lead to lost jobs across the country.
“Not only does today’s action by House Republicans put middleclass households at considerable risk, it also further erodes the confidence that the American public has in this institution. After stating that the House would vote on the Senate compromise measure yesterday, Speaker Boehner abruptly pulled the bill at the last minute and assembled today’s motion to kill the compromise in the dead of night. This decision by Speaker Boehner to not even allow a vote on the Senate passed bipartisan compromise thwarts both the rules and the will of the House, and fails the American public.”
