House Republicans voted Tuesday to prevent a direct vote on the Senate plan favored by both parties to extend the payroll tax cut for two months. Instead, House Republicans said they wanted to set up an official House-Senate negotiating panel known as a conference committee, to work out a compromise on the payroll tax cut. The decision to avoid a direct vote stems from a concern that they lack the support to defeat the measure, according to House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi.
A conference committee, if it goes forward, will require the Senate to return from winter break. “With millions of Americans struggling to make ends meet, it would be unconscionable for Speaker (John) Boehner to block a bipartisan agreement that would protect middle-class families from the thousand-dollar tax increase looming on January 1st,” said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev.
