Rep. George Miller Calls on House Republican Leadership to Pass Senate Bill to Extend Payroll Tax Cut and Unemployment Insurance for Middle Class This Week
WASHINGTON -- House Republicans have run out of time to delay any further a payroll tax cut and unemployment insurance benefits for middle class Americans and should bring the bi-partisan bill approved by the Senate to the House floor early this week for a vote, said Rep. George Miller (D-CA), the senior Democrat on the House Education and the Workforce Committee.
"Opportunity is at hand. It is time for Republicans and Democrats in the House to come together and approve the payroll tax cut and unemployment insurance extension that was approved by the Senate on Saturday with the support of all of the Senate's Democrats, and 39 out of its 47 Republicans. House Democrats and President Obama support the bill. It is a compromise, to be sure. No side in this fight got anywhere close to everything that it wanted. But we have a way to continue the payroll tax cut for middle class workers and the unemployment insurance benefit for people who have no job for no fault of their own.
"Speaker Boehner and Majority Leader Cantor must rally their side of the aisle and bring this bill to the floor for a vote as quickly as possible. If they do not, Tea Party Republicans, Speaker Boehner and Leader Cantor will be responsible for raising taxes on middle class workers and cutting off unemployment insurance benefits for people who are out of work for no fault of their own. They will have struck yet another devastating blow against our economy, against American jobs, and against our country.
"The fact is, Tea Party Republicans in the House knew all year long that the payroll tax cut for middle class workers was set to expire at the end of this month. They had a whole year to propose a solution that would be acceptable to a majority of the Congress. They failed to do that. Instead, they blocked and opposed every single proposal to extend the payroll tax cut and continuation of unemployment insurance benefits. They did nothing to move this issue and nearly every other issue forward. Well, time's up. You don't get elected to lead Congress only to put the country into reverse."
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