Republicans Cave on Payroll Tax Cut Extension

Worth Clicking: Blasts from the past wound Romney

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February 14, 2012

Republicans Cave on Payroll Tax Cut Extension

"House Republican leaders said Monday that they will support extending the federal payroll tax holiday through the end of the year without demanding spending cuts to pay for it," the Washington Post reports. The move marks a major concession by Republicans after spending months insisting that Democrats find a way to offset the costs of the tax cut.

"Republicans want to continue negotiations over financing the rest of the original legislative package, including an extension of unemployment benefits and a key tweak to maintain Medicare reimbursement rates for doctors, while ensuring that taxes will not rise on workers... Democratic leaders said they would prefer moving all three measures in a single piece of legislation but did not rule out supporting the House Republican compromise proposal to act on the tax holiday separately."

Roll Call: "Republicans are acknowledging that they would rather give in on a straight extension than fight on for spending cuts that Senate Democrats will not accept."

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Taegan D. Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites.

Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.

Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country, including the Washington Post, USA Today, Boston Globe, San Francisco Chronicle, Chicago Tribune, Philadelphia Inquirer and Christian Science Monitor.

Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.

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February 14, 2012