GOP Rolls Out Payroll Plan

House Republicans unveiled their plan to extend payroll relief Friday, sidestepping Democrats’ proposal to levy a surtax on wealthy Americans and instead opting for reforming insurance benefits and advancing the controversial Keystone pipeline.

“Everything in the House bill is offset by spending cuts, rather than through tax increases that would hit small businesses and destroy jobs, as proposed in Senate Democrats’ bill,” House Speaker John Boehner’s (R-Ohio) office said in a statement.

Language requiring the development of the pipeline has prompted a veto threat from President Obama, whose administration has put off a decision over whether or not to move forward on the project until 2013.

The bill, which keeps payroll taxes at 4.2 percent, also includes a two year delay on reducing the amount doctors are reimbursed for treating patients covered by Medicare and repeals $8 billion from the Affordable Care Act’s Prevention and Public Health Fund.