Obama to House Republicans on payroll tax cut: "This is not a game"
UPDATED 2:53 p.m. ET
President Obama on Tuesday chastised House Republicans for blocking a bipartisan Senate plan to extend the payroll tax cut for two months, effectively trying to reopen negotiations on the measure just ten days before the popular tax cuts are set to expire.
"This is not a game," Mr. Obama told reporters in a surprise appearance in the White House briefing room, "the clock is ticking."
"This shouldn't be politics as usual. Right now the (economic) recovery is fragile but it is moving in the right direction. Our failure to do this could have effects not just on families but on the economy as a whole," Mr. Obama said.
The House of Representatives moments earlier had rejected the Senate plan, which extends benefits for unemployed workers and extends the tax cut aimed at stimulating the economy for just two months so lawmakers from both parties can work out a broader compromise on how to pay for them for a full year. Democrats want to pay for them with a tax on the richest Americans, but Republicans are opposed.
House Speaker John Boehner took a calculated political gamble by seeking to send the measure back to the Senate, which has already adjourned for the holidays.
If the two sides are unable to strike a deal before the end of the year, millions of Americans will take home less money when the payroll tax reverts to the higher rate next year.
"If there are differences between the two Houses, we sit down and negotiate those differences," Boehner told reporters on Capitol Hill, urging his Senate colleagues to come back and negotiate for a longer extension.
"I need the president to help out," Boehner said to loud applause from his House Republican colleagues.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has said he does not plan to name members of the committee to work out the differences.
The payroll tax affects about 160 million Americans and it was cut by two percentage points a year ago to 4.2 percent in an effort to stimulate the economy with a little extra cash in people's pockets. Many conservative Republicans are skeptical of the macroeconomic benefits of the politically popular tax cut.
In an interview with USA Today on Monday, Boehner said he was optimistic the payroll tax cuts and unemployment benefits would be extended.
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They were against the payroll tax cut weeks ago but they read the polls and changed their mind...then they turned down a 2-3 year deal, then they supposedly agreed to a one year deal but attached a whole bunch of unrelated provisions to it (Keystone chinese oil giveaway)...then they were negotiated down to a 2 month temporary deal and Boehner accepted...then the tea party yanked his chain and he went back on it...then the GOP senate yanked his OTHER chain and he finally caved.
...its so fun watching the conservatives on here contorting themselves into a pretzel trying to make it seem as if DEMOCRATS were the ones holding up this deal up.
if you are against the payroll tax cut, fine...just say it...I would have respected House Republicans if they just admitted this from the jump...but they tried SO HARD to obstruct at all costs and try to make it seem as if the American public wouldnt notice while they pin the blame on everyone else...it backfired.
We are doomed.
reality is we have a president that first two years had the american congress, only thing accomplished is spending more money than all presidents combined to date. In the midst of depression the democratic congress and white house decide to implement a socialized healthcare. Products we use everyday like the cell phone would not be available without the carlson victory or our freedom to enterprise. Everyday bureau democrat libs along with unions and federal reserve robbing the value of our money by printing more (power giving by dmcts) continue to limit americans on opening a business, thus limiting opprutunity for working class / entreprenual americans. Kill me for not wanting to be ruled by mafia unions, greedy democrats (they are not for the people) and ruled by bureaucrats (i have an hvac degree) that are appointed. let capitalizm run and keep our politicians out of it.
They put on a show of caring about the citizenry while secretly working with repukes to pass illegal and unconstitutional legislation.
They are ALL TRAITORS and ENEMIES of the United States, our constitutional governance, and the rule of law. They MUST be removed en masse from EVERY elected office as soon as possible.
Vote out EVERY repuke/GOPerv/bagger/demoncrat scumbag and replace them with regular working class citizens.
NO Millionaires.
NO Lawyers.
NO Bankers.
NO professional politicians.
Institute STRICT Term Limits, Outlaw ALL Lobbying, Dissolve the Fed and outlaw ANY future installation of ANY central bank.
Outlaw ALL foreign aid and ANY war not in response to a direct attack on our land or citizens.
Outlaw ALL dual-citizenship aliens from holding ANY office, appointment, post, or government employee position.
Then we can begin to end the illegal gestapo police state of the "War on Terra", TSA, Patriot Act, Torture, Indefinate Detention, Domestic Spying and Eavesdropping, Fusion Centers, etc.,....
If the American people don't act very soon and decisively to regain control of their nation from these wealthy criminal dirtbags, they will become slaves, powerless to do anything but die.
The House sent a perfectly good bill to the Senate, which the Senate tabled, without a vote. (That's because OBAMA is controlling the Senate, though his puppet, Reid.)
The Senate then made a bad bill, and failed to wait for the House to even respond to it, before leaving town, as though it were a done deal, which everyone KNEW was not true.
The person truly responsible? Obama himself, through his control of the Senate.
Realize that the WH is only one branch of government, and the WH is NOT supposed to be pulling the puppet strings, in the Congress. This is a perversion of our governmental system, by a President, who would be dictator.
this is obama's game, and as usual, he plays it during the holidays...remember obamacare
The Republicans think of this as a chess game and we, the people, are their pawns. They have no empathy for those of us who cannot contribute millions to their campaigns or offer them lucrative jobs lobbying when they retire. We just don't matter to the Republicans. I think this becomes more obvious every day.
Don't vote for Republicans. They are vipers.