Obama Reaches Out to Congressional Leaders Over Payroll Tax Standoff
Jennifer Steinhauer, NY Times
President Obama on Wednesday reached out in telephone calls to House Speaker John A. Boehner and Senator Harry Reid of Nevada, the majority leader, in an effort to find a resolution to the nasty battle over the expiring payroll tax holiday.
According to an official White House report, Mr. Obama “urged the speaker to take up the bipartisan compromise passed in the Senate with overwhelming Democratic and Republican support that would prevent 160 million working Americans from being hit with a holiday tax hike on January 1st.”
After the White House disclosed that the call to Mr. Boehner took place, the speaker’s office provided its own rendition of the conversation, saying that Mr. Boehner reminded the president that the House has passed the only yearlong extension. That measure has been rejected by the Senate. He also reportedly encouraged the president to prod Mr. Reid into appointing senators to negotiate a final bill with the House.
“Let’s get this done today,” the speaker told the president, according to the account from his Congressional office.
full: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/22/us/politics/obama-reaches-out-to-congressional-leaders-over-payroll-tax-standoff.html
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