WASHINGTON – A standoff over an expiring payroll tax cut, federal unemployment benefits and other measures escalated Tuesday as the U.S. House moved a bill to sew up several end-of-year loose ends that was rejected by the Senate and White House before it even passed.
The bill stands little chance of passage in its current form, as a party line vote of mostly Republican positions on taxes, health care and energy might indicate. The bill reduces federal unemployment benefits for 114,000 Georgians and raises Medicare premiums on possibly tens of thousands of seniors.
But both parties have expressed a desire to extend this year's payroll tax cut – which would save the average family $1,000 next year – to employee Social Security withholding. In addition legislators are working to extend expiring federal unemployment benefits and welfare payments, and forestall major cuts in Medicare physician payments.
The payroll tax bill, a measure to fund the government through September and a defense spending bill are the week’s principal agenda items as Congress seeks to leave town for the holidays. All require complex bills and a tightrope act in a divided government that has enacted very few laws of significance this year, and usually at the last possible moment – approaching a government shutdown or debt default.
House Speaker John Boehner’s bill had many hotly debated components, but accomplished its aim to mostly hold the GOP caucus together. The 234-193 vote saw 14 Republicans, including Lawrenceville Rep. Rob Woodall, cross the aisle to vote no, and 10 Democrats, including Savannah Rep. John Barrow, buck their party to vote yes.
The party lines held for the remaining Georgia members. Republicans Tom Price of Roswell, Phil Gingrey of Marietta, Lynn Westmoreland of Coweta County, Paul Broun of Athens, Tom Graves of Ranger, Austin Scott of Tifton and Jack Kingston of Savannah all backed the bill. Democrats John Lewis of Atlanta, David Scott of Atlanta, Hank Johnson of DeKalb County and Sanford Bishop of Albany voted against the measure.
The key for Graves, one of the most conservative members in the House and one who often votes against GOP leaders, was the fact that the new spending was offset with cuts elsewhere. The bill freezes federal salaries and reduces Medicare benefits to high-income seniors, among other savings.
“Last year I did not support some of these components, and the reason was the Democrats at that point chose not to find ways to shrink the size of government to offset the expense of these things,” Graves said.
The most controversial piece of the bill was a provision forcing the State Department to make a swift decision on approving the Keystone XL oil pipeline from Canada, a determination President Barack Obama had put off until after next year’s election. Combined with a section rolling back Environmental Protection Agency regulations on industrial boilers, Republicans said the intent was to create jobs, while environmental groups and many Democrats cried foul.
“It creates tens of thousands of jobs, if not more,” House Majority Leader Eric Cantor said at a news conference.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, in a floor speech, trashed the bill by calling it a “pointless partisan exercise” that is “dead on arrival” in the Senate. Reid reportedly is holding up the government funding bill -- with a potential shutdown looming Friday as appropriations expire -- until a payroll tax deal is struck.
The White House issued a firm veto threat on the House bill, saying in a statement that it would “introduce ideological issues into what should be a simple debate about cutting taxes for the middle class.” The statement did not mention the pipeline, which Obama had hinted he would force his veto.
Democrats also found fault in Republicans’ proposal to reduce federal unemployment benefits from 73 weeks to 33 weeks and allow high-unemployment states to scale back their 26-week benefits programs.
Lewis introduced a bill to extend the full 73 weeks of unemployment benefits and pay for it with the savings from winding down the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Lewis said in a statement that Republicans “are focused on changing the government’s relationship to the American people by getting rid of every safety net the people have come to depend on, whether the people agree with them or not.”
Democrats on the Ways and Means Committee calculated that 114,863 Georgians would lose benefits next year under the bill.
After the vote, Republicans pointed to the Democratic crossovers as a sign that the bill should remain intact.
"Who knows what the Senate's going to do," said Rep. Austin Scott. "I think the fact that you have 10 Democrats vote for it is an indication that it's a good bill."
How it affects Georgia
Unemployment benefits. About 114,800 Georgians receiving extended federal unemployment benefits would lose them, according to a congressional estimate. The bill curbs extended federal unemployment benefits from a maximum 73 weeks to a maximum of 33 weeks.
Payroll taxes. All Georgia workers drawing a paycheck would continue to pay a 4.2 percent federal payroll tax on the first $110,100 in wages next year. If the bill fails to become law the payroll tax will increase to 6.2 percent after Dec. 31, costing the average Georgia family an estimated $1,000.
Healthcare for seniors. Monthly premiums for high-income Georgians on Medicare, the federal health care program for seniors, would rise by between $52 and $286, according to The Associated Press. High income is defined as $80,000 for individuals and $160,000 for families. A 2008 survey estimates 37,000 Georgians would be affected.
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