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Extend the payroll tax cut for a full year – Obama urges senate
U.S.President., Barack Obama
President Barack Obama, rebuffed by Congress on a yearlong extension of a Social Security payroll tax cut, said Saturday that it would be “inexcusable'” for lawmakers not to lengthen the short-term deal when they return from their holiday break.
The bill, passed by the Senate shortly before the president spoke briefly at the White House, would extend the tax cut and long-term jobless benefits for just two months, a partial victory for Obama that also sets the stage for another tax fight in February.
While pleased by the Senate vote, Obama said “it would be inexcusable for Congress not to further extend this middle-class tax cut for the rest of the year. It should be a formality, and hopefully it’s done with as little drama as possible when they get back in January.”
He added, “This really isn’t hard. There are plenty of ways to pay for these proposals.”
Obama has rallied support for the extension of the payroll tax cut in recent weeks, arguing that failure by Congress to extend the cuts would raise taxes on middle-class families and undermine the economic recovery.
The plan is a modest step forward for Obama’s year-end jobs agenda. It renews the cut in the Social Security payroll tax for 160 million workers and provides additional unemployment benefits averaging about US$300 a week for millions of people who have been out of work for six months or more.
