Hoyer Wants U.S. Payroll Tax Cut Deal Before Late February
January 21, 2012, 9:18 AM ESTBy Kathleen Hunter
(Updates with quote from Hoyer in second paragraph.)
Jan. 17 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. Representative Steny Hoyer of Maryland said he is “very hopeful” Congress will pass a payroll tax cut extension for the rest of 2012 before lawmakers break for a recess in mid-February.
Hoyer, the second-ranking House Democrat, told reporters in Washington today that lawmakers should “not wait until the last minute,” as they did in December, to extend the 2 percentage point tax cut as well as expanded unemployment benefits and a provision to avert a planned cut in Medicare payments to doctors.
The payroll tax cut will expire at the end of February unless Congress acts. Republicans and Democrats disagree on how to pay for the tax cut for the rest of 2012. Democrats favor a surcharge on millionaires while Republicans have proposed raising Medicare premiums for wealthier seniors, reducing aid to the jobless and extending a pay freeze for federal workers.
House and Senate leaders named negotiators who will start meeting as soon as next week to work on a plan. Hoyer said he wants them to reach agreement by the end of January so Congress can vote on legislation before the Presidents’ Day recess that begins Feb. 17.
Allowing lawmakers’ discussions to go near the deadline, as in December, “would be disruptive to the economy and not a responsible action on our part,” Hoyer said.
Republicans got “a black eye” for their handling of the issue in December and were viewed as not unified and “ultimately as agreeing to something” they initially said they wouldn’t accept, Hoyer said. “If I’d gone through that process, I think maybe I don’t want to repeat it.”
Although Democrats still believe a tax on millionaires is the “wisest” way to pay for the payroll tax cut, the Senate doesn’t have the 60 votes to gain the chamber’s approval for that, Hoyer said.
--Editors: Laurie Asseo, Don Frederick
To contact the reporter on this story: Kathleen Hunter in Washington at khunter9@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Jodi Schneider at jschneider50@bloomberg.net
