Payroll Tax Extension Passed
Prior to adjourning for the 1st session of the 112th Congress, the House of Representatives passed legislation (H.R. 3630) by a vote of 234-193 that extended a temporary reduction of 2% in the employee payroll tax rate - from 6.2% to 4.2% - for another full year. The bill also would have prevented a scheduled reduction in Medicare reimbursements to doctors, which could jeopardize senior’s access to the doctor of their choice, and reform extended unemployment benefits. Finally, the bill contained a provision requiring the President to expedite the approval or denial of the so-called “Keystone XL” pipeline, the approval of which is expected to create thousands of American jobs.
Rep. Todd Platts voted in favor of H.R. 3630. The cost of the bill would have been offset by a variety of means, such as increasing fees on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and raising Medicare premiums for people making more than $80,000 a year.
The Senate took a different approach, instead passing a bill that extended the employee payroll tax cut for only two months. Members of the House – including Rep. Platts - preferred to instead stay in session and appoint a conference committee. The conference committee could then draft a compromise bill extending the payroll tax cut for an entire year.
“Since early September of last year, I have publicly advocated for extending the current payroll tax rate for an additional year and have urged my colleagues in Congress to work with President Obama to do so,” Rep. Platts stated. “The House approved legislation which did just that - extending the payroll tax credit for a year, extending and reforming unemployment benefits, and preventing reimbursement cuts for physicians who treat Medicare patients - all of which was offset by cutting government spending, not raising taxes in a weakened economy. The Senate offered a different solution, adopting a two-month extension of the payroll tax credit and promising to address the issue again next year. This is bad public policy. Americans are tired of short-term fixes, which are creating economic uncertainty at a time when millions of Americans are out of work.”
Because the Senate recessed, the House agreed to pass the two month extension. However, at the insistence of the House, changes were made to make it easier for small businesses to comply with the administrative burden of the short-term change in the payroll tax cut. Congress is now expected to consider legislation next year which will extend the payroll tax cut for the remainder of 2012.
Other Web Page Highlights (www.house.gov/platts)
Recent Subcommittee Hearings on Waste in Medicaid, Data Protection at Homeland Security
Throughout the end of last year, Congressman Platts continued to hold hearings as the Chairman of the Subcommittee on Government Organization, Efficiency, and Financial Management. Hearings included waste in the Medicaid program, at which a Vietnam veteran who was the victim of Medicaid fraud testified, and ensuring that sensitive data is controlled at the Department of Homeland Security. More information about both hearings is posted to the web site.
(http://www.house.gov/apps/list/press/pa19_platts/Medicaidfraud.shtml)
(http://www.house.gov/apps/list/press/pa19_platts/DHSdata.shtml)
Statement in Favor of the Balanced Budget Amendment
Rep. Platts spoke on the House floor in favor of the passage of a Balanced Budget Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, as currently exists already in 49 states. The House voted 261-165 to pass the amendment, short of the 2/3rds required to send a proposed Constitutional amendment to the states for ratification. His statement is posted to the web site.
(http://www.house.gov/apps/list/speech/pa19_platts/BBA.shtml)
Statement in Support of the Workforce Democracy and Fairness Act
Rep. Platts spoke on the House floor in favor of legislation to restore key protections to the American workplace, for both workers and their employers, from overreach by the National Labor Relations Board. His statement is posted to the web site.
(http://www.house.gov/apps/list/speech/pa19_platts/workforce.shtml)
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