CQ TODAY ONLINE NEWS
Dec. 13, 2011 – 11:04 p.m.
Final Deals on Big Bills Hard on Conservatives
By Richard E. Cohen, CQ Staff
Conservative House Republicans face an uncertain end to the first session of the 112th Congress, even after most of them backed a plan Tuesday to extend the popular Social Security payroll tax cut and expedite construction of an oil pipeline from Canada to the Gulf Coast.
The conservatives’ track record provides little basis for confidence that their votes to pass the GOP tax cut package (
Worried conservatives recall that several times this year they have put together bills that won House passage initially but were later rebuffed and rewritten before being pushed through Congress in the closing days before a recess.
In the process, hard-line conservatives have been sidelined, left to vote against a compromise negotiated by Speaker
Conservatives were impressed by the cohesion they demonstrated during Tuesday’s vote and the potential implications of that. Only 14 Republicans, including four freshmen, opposed the House bill.
“As time passes and it softens members’ dealings with their districts, it also softens their adamancy on issues,” said
House conservatives are reassured that Reid has twice been unable to secure the 60 votes needed for Senate passage of two different Democratic payroll tax measures. Both bills (
As part of a broad tax cut bill last December (PL 111-312), Congress lowered the Social Security tax paid by workers to 4.2 percent of wages from 6.2 percent for 2011. The Senate bills would have further reduced the tax rate for workers to 3.1 percent and financed the resulting revenue loss with a surtax on household incomes over $1 million.
Likewise, Senate Republicans have twice been unable to muster enough votes to move on to their plan. It hews closely to the House bill, which would retain the current payroll tax rate for workers of 4.2 percent for an additional year.
The House bill would also renew some expiring benefits for long-term jobless workers and prevent a Medicare payment cut for physicians.
Some House conservatives contend that if they hold their ground they may win the latest showdown over spending, an outcome that has so far eluded them.
This leaves Boehner and Senate Minority Leader
Boehner has insisted that the House must support extension of the payroll tax cut, and congressional leaders are expected to cut a deal that can pass the Senate and attract enough Republican and Democratic votes in the House to allow President Obama to sign it into law before year’s end.
Final Deals on Big Bills Hard on Conservatives
Another Showdown
With lawmakers eager to end the session and leave town for the holidays, the legislation has become another high-stakes stare-down. But for conservatives, this is serious business. And it is their view that GOP leaders have little room to maneuver away from the House’s position.
“If the Senate strips out the pipeline project and our pay-fors that we have approved, I don’t see how it would pass the House,” said Rep.
For now, even Boehner’s conservative critics voice confidence that he will fight for the House GOP version and resist a compromise that would jettison provisions included to finance the revenue losses and spending increases in the bill.
Among the financing provisions in the House bill is one that would reduce spending for a prevention and public health fund established by last year’s health care law (PL 111-48, PL 111-152). It also would recoup subsidies paid to people who receive health insurance through new state-run exchanges but are later found ineligible for the coverage. And it would require wealthy Medicare beneficiaries to pay higher premiums.
“The Speaker likes the plan. I like and support it,” said House Republican Study Committee chairman
But, reflecting the overriding uncertainty, none would emulate Republican presidential contender Mitt Romney and make a $10,000 bet on the outcome. “I am here until we finish. I have no idea what will happen next,” said Rep.
Democrats Clash With Hard Right
For many Democrats, the conservatives’ tactics have grown tiresome and made it more difficult for Congress to do its work.
Citing Jordan’s comment last week that Obama’s opposition to the House measure made him more likely to support it, Minority Whip Steny Hoyer, D-Md., said, “That is exactly what the American people hate about what is going on in Washington, that we are pursuing policies because the president doesn’t like them.”
Jordan said his vote for the measure was based on “what was in it.”
Conservatives have sought to make Reid the villain after he slowed final action on a nine-bill “megabus” appropriations package for fiscal 2012 until an agreement can be reached on the payroll tax cut package. In response, Hoyer said, “Sen. Reid is not going to obstruct, nor are we. We are going to work toward getting things done.”
Reid reached out to Boehner on Dec. 12, but the talks did not appear to make any progress. “They’re wasting time catering to the tea party folks over there when they should be working with us on a bipartisan package that can pass both houses,” Reid said Tuesday.
Final Deals on Big Bills Hard on Conservatives
Yet it is Reid’s past collaboration with Boehner that has made conservatives uneasy. Mostly operating away from public view, the top leaders and a few trusted aides have established a working relationship that has permitted final resolution of several legislative entanglements. They include the fiscal 2011 spending bill in April (PL 112-8), plus the debt ceiling increase in August, which included creation of the joint deficit reduction committee.
The spending bill was opposed by 59 House Republicans, and the debt limit bill drew 66 “nay” votes from House GOP lawmakers. That weakened Boehner’s hand and required him to reach across the aisle to secure the votes needed to pass the bills. This time, rank-and-file Republicans hope to avoid a repeat of that scenario, although they confess that they can only guess how the next few days will play out.