With the clock ticking away on the deadline for the one year payroll tax cut (this one, as it turns out, is a real deadline), Democrats and Republicans in the Senate are fighting to see who can outmaneuver each other. Both offered proposals to extend the cut today – and both proposals failed.
The Democrats offered a proposal to extend the payroll tax cut by offsetting the cost with a surtax on income over $1 million, the so-called “millionaire’s tax.” That proposal failed by a vote of 50-48, falling short of the 60 votes needed to move on.
The Republicans fared worse with several members of their own party voting against their politically unpopular proposal. They suggested freezing pay for federal workers and further reducing the federal workforce by 10%. That proposal failed by a 22-76 vote.
Meanwhile, the House is offering up its own proposals which are, quite frankly all over the place. The Keystone XL pipeline addition to the bill is already making headlines. Other suggested add-ons for the bill include extending jobless benefits; reducing jobless benefits (yes, both ideas are on the table), and removing a ban on drug-testing for jobless benefits. A vote is expected on the Republican version of the proposal early next week; unless a deal is reached before the vote, it will likely not pass, though House SpeakerJohn Boehner (R-OH) remains optimistic.
I say we just give Congress a knotted rope and let them tug it out.
