Extending Assistance for Unemployed Americans

It was rather remarkable this morning to watch the proceedings on the House floor. House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) wanted to try again to bring up the Senate’s bipartisan payroll-tax-break compromise, and instead of debating, Republicans literally walked away from the fight.

Mr. Van Hollen and I just participated on the Floor of the House and sought to seek recognition so that we could ask unanimous consent to place on the Floor and pass legislation which would give certainty and assurance to seniors, to the unemployed, and to 160,000 million Americans who are at risk of losing their tax cut on January 1st. The ability to have that certainty, to have that confidence, not just at this holiday period but in January and in February while we take action to try to come to an agreement on the one year extension that we want.

It is December 20th, and the Republicans are using it as a day to dissemble, pretending to support a tax cut for working Americans, while making it uncertain and delayed. We – of course, as we all know – could pass the Senate bill by 2pm today, send it to the President, and provide certainty to working Americans, come January 1st, that their taxes will not go up.

What they did was – in consultation with John Boehner – came to an agreement. That agreement had 89 Senators out of 100 agree on a proposition that would continue the middle class tax cut, would give certainty and assurance that as of January 1st there wouldn't be a tax [increase], would give 48 million Americans assurance that they would still have access to their Medicare doctors, and would give 2.3 million Americans an assurance they wouldn't lose their unemployment insurance and therefore their ability to support themselves and their families.

Continuing the House Republicans’ pattern of walking away from compromise, they are refusing to hold a vote on the bipartisan Senate bill that will prevent a middle class tax increase as we continue to work on a year-long extension. We must give certainty to American families that on January 1 they will not see their taxes go up, they will not lose unemployment assistance, and seniors will not lose access to their doctors. By blocking a vote on the Senate bill, House Republicans will be responsible for increasing taxes on families and putting our economy at risk.

This is not in fact a partisan issue. Thirty-nine Republicans, 83 percent of Republicans in the United States Senate voted for this and the American people are saying if 83 percent of the Republicans and almost 100 percent of Democrats are for something, why can’t you come to agreement in Washington, DC? That’s the question we ought to be asking Speaker Boehner – why can’t you take yes for an answer? Why can’t we give the American people the assurance that they need to have, particularly at this holiday time?

This evening, House Republicans are expected to oppose a bipartisan Senate bill to extend year-end items. Their opposition is risking a tax hike on middle class families, cutting off assistance to unemployed Americans, and seniors losing access to their doctors. Republicans should work with Democrats to pass the bipartisan Senate plan that extends these critical policies as we work on a full-year extension.

The extreme, Tea Party faction of the House Republican conference has once again walked away from a legislative compromise which addresses critical challenges confronting the American people. This action again emphasizes the extreme views and rigidity of the House Republicans even though 80% of the Republican members of the U.S. Senate supported this compromise.