Rehberg votes to reject 2-month payroll tax cut, calls for 12 months instead
Billings Gazette – U.S. Rep. Denny Rehberg, R-Mont., voted with the House Republican majority Tuesday to reject legislation that would extend the payroll tax holiday for two months.
He joined House Republicans who voted 229-193 to call for a joint House-Senate conference committee to iron out differences between the House bill and the Senate-amended version of the House bill. The Senate passed its version of the bill Saturday by 89-10 before adjourning for the year.
The Senate version would have extended the payroll tax holiday for Americans for two months, starting Jan. 1, while House Republicans said they want the holiday to last 12 months as their original bill proposed.
If the House and Senate fail to act by year’s end, payroll taxes will rise by about $20 a week for a worker making $50,000 a year, the Associated Press reported. In addition, the AP said nearly 2 million people would lose their unemployment benefits, while physicians would face big drops in Medicare payments for treating elderly people.
