Obama to Publicly Pressure House Republicans to Pass Payroll Tax Cut
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JIM WATSON/AFP/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) — With just nine days before a payroll tax break for 160 million Americans expires, President Obama on Thursday will step up pressure on House Republicans to pass a two-month extension bill that sailed through the Senate.
As the partisan stalemate continues, the White House is pursuing an aggressive campaign on social media to highlight the loss in benefits millions of Americans will incur on Jan. 1 if Congress doesn’t act. Americans, on average, would lose about $40 per paycheck if the tax cuts expire. Obama himself personally took to Twitter on Wednesday, asking Americans to share what that loss would mean to them.
On Thursday, Obama will push that point in a statement early in the afternoon.
“If Congress fails to extend the payroll tax cut, the typical family making $50,000 a year will have about $40 less to spend or save with each paycheck,” the White House said in a statement. “The president will discuss what’s at stake for the American people, and will be joined by Americans who would see their taxes go up if the House Republicans fail to act, including some of those Americans who have responded to this call to illustrate what $40 means to them.”
The White House says more than 25,000 people have responded to its “What 40 Dollars a Paycheck Means to American Families” campaign on Twitter and whitehouse.gov.
House Republicans are under increasing pressure, even from their Senate counterparts, to find a compromise. Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, has called for the creation of a bipartisan conference committee to solve out differences but Democrats have refused to send any negotiators.
Democratic leaders are insisting that the House pass the two-month extension that the Senate approved on Saturday, and then continue negotiations to find a long-term fix when members return from recess in January.
Republican aides say GOP leaders may come to an agreement soon, and that is likely to happen next week. Many Tea Party-backed members are refusing to support a short-term extension, opting instead for lasting tax changes — putting increasing pressure on the leadership.
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