Ore. congressman will help negotiate payroll tax cut deal
WASHINGTON – Oregon Republican Rep. Greg Walden will join a group of eight congressmen tasked with negotiating after the House and Senate couldn’t agree on a payroll tax plan.
The House on Tuesday rejected a plan backed by President Barack Obama to extend a 2 percentage point payroll tax cut for two months to buy time for talks on a full-year renewal.
The House vote, 229-193, kicks the measure back to the Senate, where the bipartisan two-month measure passed on Saturday by a sweeping 89-10 vote. The Senate then promptly left Washington for the holidays.
“Do we go with the short-term Senate plan that the National Payroll Reporting Consortium, Inc., says, ‘…would create substantial problems, confusion and costs affecting a significant percentage of U.S. employers and employees’? Or do we pass the House Republican plan that provides more tax relief, extends unemployment insurance with real reforms and a year’s worth of certainty?” Walden asked in a statement.
Walden was appointed to help negotiate by House Speaker John Boehner.
Read more about the House not passing the payroll tax cut
Watch a video message from Rep. Greg Walden: