Bay Area Lawmakers Return To DC For Votes On Jobless Benefits, Tax Cuts
WASHINGTON (KCBS) - The Bay Area congressional delegation was heading back to the nation's capitol Monday to vote on a measure to extend a middle class tax cut.
"It's somewhere between $1,000 and $1,500, depending on a family's situation, a year," explained Rep. George Miller (D-CA), who spoke to KCBS 740AM & 106.9FM before boarding a plan for Washington, D.C.
Even before take-off, it seemed clear what Miller would face when he touched down. Speaker John Boehner told reporters Monday that he expected the GOP-run House to reject the two-month bill Monday evening.
KCBS' Bob Butler Reports:
The Senate passed the shorter version on Saturday with strong support from senators of both parties and the backing of President Barack Obama. It had been negotiated by Senate leaders of both parties.
After that vote, House Republican lawmakers told their leaders that they strongly opposed the Senate bill. Boehner and other top House Republicans then said they opposed the Senate-approved bill.
If the House rejected the bill, Miller suggested there was no telling when or if a new deal would be worked out in time to keep the payroll tax cut and jobless benefits intact.
"The economy is starting to recover and we don't need to disrupt it by discontinuing the payroll tax deduction for working families," he argued.
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