House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R.-Va., announced that a vote to reject the Senate payroll tax cut bill that was originally scheduled for tonight would be pushed back until tomorrow.
The Senate voted 89 to 10 on Saturday morning to extend the payroll tax cut for two months, and adjourned for Christmas break. But House Republicans soon came out in opposition to the move, arguing that a two-month extension was bad policy that merely kicks the can down the road until late February.
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“We’re willing to stay here until to get the job done, to make sure the payroll tax cut is done for the entire year so the American people and businesses have the certainty of what the tax code is going to look like for all of next year,” House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, told reporters after a meeting with GOP members.
Boehner was asked about the question that was swirling around the Capitol all day — the communication between Boehner and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., leading up to the deal McConnell struck with Senate Democrats. Did McConnell strike the deal without assurances from Boehner that the House would go along, or did Boehner misjudge what kind of reaction it would generate from his own members?
“The House passed a bill to do what the president asked for and what everybody agreed to – that we would extend the payroll tax holiday for a year,” Boehner explained. “I made it clear to Sen. Reid and Sen. McConnell that the House was not going to enter into a negotiation until such time as the Senate did its job and produced something. We disagreed with what the Senate produced, and as a result, we’re asking to go to conference with the Senate to resolve the differences between the two houses.”
Asked if he had the votes for the House to reject the Senate bill, Boehner responded, “Oh yeah.”
