A spokesperson for Congresswoman Ann Marie Buerkle says the Republican is in Washington today waiting to hear if there will be a compromise over the payroll tax cut. Buerkle has scheduled a flight back to Syracuse this afternoon.
House Republican leaders are renewing their call for the Democratic-led Senate to bargain with them and try to end the stalemate over extending a payroll tax cut and jobless benefits.
House Speaker John Boehner and other top house Republicans met Wednesday, saying Senate negotiators should join them in a search for compromise.
Minutes earlier, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid released a letter to Boehner urging him to bring the House back to Washington. Reid wants the House to approve a bipartisan Senate-approved bill extending the tax cut and jobless benefits for two months, and then bargain over a yearlong extension.
House Republicans, including Representative Buerkle want to extend the tax cut and jobless benefits for a year. But the stalemate threatens to allow the payroll tax cut to expire on January 1, which would mean a tax hike for 160-million Americans.
For a family with an income of $50 thousand, the expiration means they will be shelling out $1 thousand in extra taxes.
In an attempt to add pressure to House Republicans, the White House website features a countdown clock to the expiration of the payroll tax cut along with a calculator which allows you to figure out how it would impact your income.
(Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.)
