Harry Reid: Senate will block payroll tax cuts

"Congress took a collective step backward in wrapping up a bitter year of legislating, as President Barack Obama’s top priority over the payroll tax holiday became mired in a battle over unrelated, partisan issues," groused Politico's Jake Sherman and Manu Raju in a December 14 story.


"House Republicans jammed through a version of the payroll tax bill Tuesday evening" Sherman and Raju complained, noting that the bill "calls for construction of the controversial Keystone KL sic oil pipeline, scales back an air-pollution rule, cuts Obama’s health reform law and reduces the length of unemployment benefits."


"It was largely a message vote — the GOP bill is dead on arrival in the Democratic Senate and faced a veto threat anyway — but it sets the stage again for a final, frenzied bout of deal making that has defined this divided Congress," the Politico staffers added.


Of course, the Republican-controlled House is actually passing legislation for consideration by the Democratic-led Senate. What's more, Majority Leader Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.) is, on advice from President Obama, threatening to hold up a vote on an unrelated spending measure to keep the government running past Friday.


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.