Congressman Tom Cole released the following statement after the House voted to work with the Senate to extend the payroll tax holiday
for one full year. On December 13, the House passed the Middle Class Tax
Relief & Job Creation Act, which would extend the payroll tax holiday for
one year, reform and extend unemployment benefits, protect access to doctors for
Medicare beneficiaries, and accelerate a decision on the Keystone pipeline. The
Senate payroll tax plan would only extend the tax cut for two months.
"The Senate plan is simply
unworkable and unfair to the American people. The nation's payroll processors
overwhelmingly oppose a two-month extension because it is almost impossible to
implement and creates unnecessary hardship and uncertainty.
"House Republicans are committed
to extending the payroll tax holiday for a full year, and we passed a bill to do
that. Now 160 million Americans may be hit with a tax increase in two weeks
because Harry Reid and Senate Democrats chose politics over policy. The Senate
should come back from vacation and join the House in passing a responsible,
one-year plan."