In a joint press conference with Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Mr. Obama stopped short of threatening to veto a payroll tax cut bill that included measures regarding the Keystone XL pipeline because "I expect they're going to have enough sense over on Capitol Hill to do the people's business and not try to load it up with a bunch of politics."
"I think it's fair to say that if the payroll tax cut is attached to a whole bunch of extraneous issues not related to making sure that the American people's taxes don't go up on Jan. 1, then it's not something that I'm gonna accept," Mr. Obama said. "And I don't expect to have to veto it because I expect they're going to have enough sense over on Capitol Hill to do the people's business and not try to load it up with a bunch of politics."
"Everybody should be on notice," he added. "The payroll tax cut is something that House Republicans as well as Senate Republicans should want to do regardless of any other issues... It shouldn't be held hostage for any other issues that they may be concerned about it."
The president reiterated that he will examine "all the options" and consequences before making a decision on whether or not to approve TransCanada's 1,700-mile underground oil pipeline, and denied that politics were at play in his recent decision to delay a verdict on its fate.
"With respect to the politics, look - this is a big project with big consequences," Mr. Obama said. "We've seen Democrats and Republicans express concerns about it. And it is my job as president of the United States of America to make sure that a process is followed that examines all the options, looks at all the consequences, before a decision is made."
Harper has expressed his disappointment over Mr. Obama's delaying the decision, but said on Wednesday that he was confident Mr. Obama has an "open mind" about the issue.
"I think my position, the position on the government of Canada on this issue is very well known, and of course Barack and I have discussed that on many occasions," Harper told reporters at the press conference. "He's indicated to me as he's indicated to you today that he is following a proper project to eventually take that decision here in the United States and that he has an open mind in regards to what the final decision may or may not be."
"I take that as his answer and you can appreciate that I would not comment on the domestic politics of this issue or any other issue here in the United States," he added.
Congress lowered the rate from 6.2% to 4.2% last year, but the tax holiday is set to expire Dec. 31.
Obama backed a proposal that would halve the payroll tax in 2012 while charging those making more than $1 million a 3.25% surcharge to pay for it. It also called for reductions in the portion of payroll tax paid by most small-business owners.
"They didn't want to ask a few hundred thousand of the wealthiest Americans to pay their fair share," said Obama, who prefers Christmas in Hawaii. "I think that's unacceptable. We're going to keep pushing Congress to make this happen. Now is not the time to slam the brakes on the recovery, now's the time step on the gas. We need to get this done."
The GOP-backed legislation would extend the payroll tax holiday for a year and reduce the federal deficit by $111 billion.
That plan would reduce the size of the federal workforce and extend the federal employee pay freeze through 2015. It also would eliminate wealthy earners' eligibility for unemployment compensation and food stamps and enforce higher Medicare premiums for millionaires and billionaires.
The White House dismissed that proposal as "unbalanced."
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