House advances payroll tax deal; GOP signals opposition

“This legislation is simply an election-year gimmick,” he added. “It jeopardizes our already fragile Social Security system, while literally tricking voters, 160 million of them, with the hopes that they believe it’s real tax relief.”

The final bill is expected to split Republicans over the failure of the bill to pay for the payroll tax, which funds the Social Security Trust Fund — a point that Rep. Joe Barton (R-Texas) stressed during rule debate.

{mosads}”I’m not saying anything disparaging about the leadership on both sides of the aisle and the leadership in both bodies, but we are taking money away from the Social Security Trust Fund and we are substituting an IOU that may or may not ever be repaid,” Barton said.

He also said he opposes the rule because it breaks the GOP promise to only take up legislation that is made publicly available for three days.

“I think to go back on a principle to the American people … I don’t think that’s something that you compromise for political expediency,” he said. “So I will vote no, against this rule, for the first time in my career in the House of Representatives as a member of the majority when a majority rule is up, and I would hope that this is a one-time exception that we violate the principle that we promised when we became the majority.”

Rep. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), who managed debate on the rule, said he agrees that it will be hard for Republicans to support the bill.

“In regard to the payroll tax deduction, unfortunately, our friends on the left did not think it was important to pay for the extension,” Scott said. “Spending without making the proper adjustments is a notion I am not fond of. My voting record makes no secret of that.

“This is what makes this vote so difficult today. You cannot always get exactly what you want, but today I applaud both sides for attempting to get fairly close to it.”

But he said the bill at least addresses some pertinent issues, and makes some reforms to unemployment insurance by limiting the number of weeks that unemployed people can receive benefits.

“We cannot continue to pay unemployment benefits for 99 weeks indefinitely,” he said, referring to language that reduces payments to 73 weeks by the end of the year. “We cannot allow payments to our doctors to be affected, as that will only turn around and affect the care available to those in need. And we cannot raise taxes on American families.”

Following the vote on the rule, the House started debate on the bill itself shortly before 10 a.m., and was expected to approve the bill, H.R. 3630, before noon.