We
already know there won't be a House-Senate conference committee on the payroll tax cut—with just 11 days left in the year, the only way to give the House and Senate enough time to negotiate differences between their bills is for House Republicans to pass the Senate's two-month extension.
But according to a release distributed by Senate Democrats, even if there were such a committee, at least five of the eight Republicans that House Speaker John Boehner says he would name to it have public opposed the payroll tax cut. Quoting from the Democratic release:
- Rep. Kevin Brady (R-TX): "I’m not as big of a fan of the payroll tax cuts… and the payroll tax cut, just like the other rebates, has had a marginal impact at best." [Bloomberg, 12/14/11]
- Rep. Dave Camp (R-MI): "I’m not in favor of that. I don’t think that’s a good idea…" Camp said, calling the payroll tax holiday "piecemeal." [The Hill, 8/14/11]
- Rep. Renee Ellmers (R-NC): "We don’t need more gimmicks [NCNN, 11/30/11]
- Rep. Tom Price (R-GA): "It doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. It’s a good nugget from a rhetorical standpoint, for the class warfare that [President Obama] seems intent on fighting." [NPR, 9/8/11]
- Rep. Tom Reed (R-NY): "REED CALLS DEMOCRATS’ TAX PLAN A THREAT TO SOCIAL SECURITY" [Reed Press Release, 12/3/11
The good news for these guys is that unless something major changes, their wish will come true: The payroll tax cut will not be extended. And we'll head into 2012 with Republicans taking responsibility for raising taxes on 160 million Americans.