Payroll Tax Measure: House and Senate Reach Deal
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iStockphoto/Thinkstock(WASHINGTON) — The House and Senate have reached an agreement on legislation to renew the two-percentage-point cut in the payroll tax as well as jobless benefits for millions of unemployed Americans.
Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., announced the deal, which has been one of President Obama’s top priorities, late Wednesday night. It is hoped that the deal will be passed off for a vote in the House and Senate this week.
The payroll tax holiday — which is set to expire at the end of this month — could continue to save the average worker more than $80 a month, if extended.
“The public wants action, and the economy needs help,” Darrell West, director of governance studies at the Brookings Institution, told the Miami Herald earlier Wednesday.
Most of the major pieces of the legislation that were disputed are a continuation of current law, including the rates doctors are paid by Medicare, so they go into effect immediately. There is also a proposed reduction in the maximum unemployment benefits to 73 weeks from 99 for those hardest hit.
Officials have estimated that another 10-month extension may cost the Treasury about $100 billion.
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