House GOP Announce Bill Extending Payroll Tax Cut, Approving Keystone Pipeline

By Andrea Salazar

House GOP leadership Thursday announced that they expect a vote on extending Social Security payroll tax cuts next week.

House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) said, at news conference, that the bill would also include an extension and reform of unemployment benefits and approval for the Keystone XL Pipeline, despite President Obama’s threat to veto any bill linked to the oil pipeline.

“Mr. President, we will have some of your ideas in this bill, but maybe it’s time to try some of ours. Do not veto this jobs bill,”  said Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas).

Acknowledging that the bill does not include everything both sides asked for, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) said it “does make some progress.”

“This bill does ensure that we abide by the principle that we want people to keep more of their hard-earned money, and this bill does have some incremental steps towards continued efforts of economic growth,” Cantor said.

But Rep. Sander Levin (D-Mich.), ranking member of the House Ways and Means Committee, said Republicans have “chosen a path of confrontation instead of the search for common ground.”

“The president said he’d veto it,” Levin said at a briefing on extending unemployment benefits. “So instead of reaching out…they’re trying to undercut the president.”

Janie Amaya contributed to this story.

GOP Leaders Downplay Dip In Jobless Rate

House GOP leaders downplayed the dip in the nation’s unemployment rate from 9 percent to 8.6 percent Friday morning, the lowest recorded rate in nearly three years.

“Today’s unemployment numbers certainly look good on its surface,” House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) said at a Friday press conference. “If you look at the number of new jobs created, there’s just not enough new jobs being created in America.”

According to the latest unemployment numbers, the economy added 120,000 jobs in November. Despite seeing jobs totals reach at least 100,000 in the past three months - September numbers were revised showing 210,000 new jobs were added, an uptick of 52,000 from the initial report - House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) voiced his concern over the period of time in which the jobless rate has remained above 8 percent. 

“The jobless rate in our country is still unacceptably high, Boehner said. “Today marks the 34th consecutive month of unemployment above eight percent.”

Though Republican leaders welcomed the dip in the unemployment rate as “good news,” they remained skeptical of Obama’s economic agenda. Boehner used the opportunity to call on President Obama and the Democratic-controlled Senate to take up 25 House-passed bills, all of which are considered job creators by House Republicans.

“It is time for the president to admit, after being able to enact all the major tenants of his agenda… that ultimately his policies are not working,” Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas) said. “We would ask Mr. President to please asks Mr. Reid to pass our jobs bills.”

Hensarling Blames Debt Panel Collapse On Dems

By Andrea Salazar

The Republican co-chair of the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction blamed Democrats Tuesday for the committee’s failure to come up with a deal to reduce the nation’s deficit by $1.2 trillion over the next 10 years.

“[Democrats] were unwilling to agree to anything less than $1 trillion in tax hikes — and unwilling to offer any structural reforms to put our health-care entitlements on a permanently sustainable basis,” wrote Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas) in a Wall Street Journal opinion piece.

President Obama’s “disappointing lack of leadership” didn’t help the matter, Hensarling said.

“Unfortunately, the committee’s challenge was made more difficult by President Obama. Since the committee was formed, he has demanded more stimulus spending and issued a veto threat against any proposed committee solution to the spending problem that was not coupled with a massive tax increase.”

Despite the committee’s inability to come up with a plan, Hensarling remains committed to “ensuring that full deficit reduction is realized.”

“As Winston Churchill said, ‘Americans can always be trusted to do the right thing, once all other possibilities have been exhausted.’ Despite my disappointment with the committee’s setback, I remain confident that we will yet again prove Churchill right.”

Super Committee Braces For Failure, Preps For Fallout

Democrats and Republicans are gearing up for a political showdown following the seemingly inevitable collapse of super committee negotiations.

Though the 12-member panel technically has until Wednesday to reach an agreement on a deficit-reduction package, a potential deal must first be reviewed by the Congressional Budget Office and be made available to the committee for two days prior to a vote, making Monday the effective deadline.

Democratic and Republican members of the super committee took to the airwaves over the weekend to prepare the nation and Congress with an approaching truth; the bipartisan, bicameral unit has failed to reach an agreement.

“From the Democratic side, it was the same thing. Raise taxes, pass the presidnet’s jobs bill, no entitlement reform,” said Sen. Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) on NBC’s “Meet the Press. “On the Republican side, you had the one true breakthrough and that was this new concept of tax reform which could generate revenue from upper brackets.”

Democratic Sen. Xavier Becerra (Calif.) countered on “Fox News Sunday,” arguing that the concession made by Republicans on revenues was of little significance.

“Remember, we have 1,400 multimillionaires in this country who didn’t pay a single bit of income taxes in 2009. Why should they escape participation when we’re akin seniors to help cover the costs of deficits… that the didn’t even cause?” he said.

Aides close to the negotiations admit that, as unlikely as it may be, a last minute deal could still make its way to the CBO before the end of the day.

“I’m at the table,” said Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) on CNN’s “State of the Union.” “I want to solve this. I know Americans want us to solve this. I remain hopeful that someone on the other side will say, this is too important to fail.”

Despite the potential for a last ditch effort to reach an agreement, partisan finger pointing has already begun within the 12-member panel as Democrats blame Republicans for digging their heels in the ground on taxes and Republicans have charged Democrats with being unwilling to put entitlements on the table.

“On the other side, there was an insistence that we have a trillion-dollar tax increase [and] and unwillingness to cut any kind of spending at all unless there was a huge tax increase,” said Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) on CBS’ “Face the Nation.”

If, in fact, the super committee does announce failure Monday, a series of automatic cuts would shed $1.2 trillion from the deficit over ten years which includes a big chunk from defense spending. Republicans will attempt to alter the required cuts so as to lessen the impact on the nation’s defense system, but according to reports, Democrats will block this move unless the GOP allows the Bush-era tax cuts to expire for the wealthiest Americans.

Republicans Counter Democrats' Financial Regulatory Reform Plan

By Celia Canon-Talk Radio News Service

At a press conference on Thursday, Republicans presented their own financial regulatory reform plan to counter proposals made by the Democrats on this issue.

Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas) said that “The Republican plan will transition Fannie (Mae) and Freddie (Mac) to market competition over a reasonable period of time to help end what the taxpayers are tired of.. and that is bail-out mania.”

Congressman Spencer Bachus (R- Ala) emphasized the weakness of the Democrats’ plan.

“Unfortunately, the administration's plan continues the cycle of bailouts for "too big to fail" financial institutions, furthers the government's role in picking winners and losers, complicates rather than streamlines the current regulatory structure, and keeps taxpayers on the hook for losses caused by imprudent risk-taking on Wall Street,” said Bachus.

Bachus explained that instead, “The Republican plan would direct all failed non-banks to enhanced bankruptcy proceedings. Bankruptcy is a fair and transparent process where the rules are clear and well-established, and which does not require taxpayer funding to bail out the creditors of failed institutions.”

Rep. Shelley Moore Capito (R-Va.) summarized the Republican plan.

“It’s a better protection for our taxpayers, it’s less government involvement, it’s a more orderly transition,” said Capito.

Congresswoman Judy Biggert (R-Ill.) also partook in the presentation of the regulatory plan.

“There’s going to be enforcement and fiscal responsibility for all those that created (crisis),” said Biggert.

Rep. Shelley Moore Capito (R-Va.) summarized the Republican plan.

“It’s a better protection for our taxpayers, it’s less government involvement, it’s a more orderly transition,” said Capito.

Despite the differing plans, both Republicans and Democrats agree on one point: America needs change in the financial system.