Reid files cloture on latest payroll-tax-extension bill

The bill, however, does not have the support of most Republicans in the Senate, making passage unlikely and once again putting Republicans in the awkward position of having to vote against a tax cut. 

“Republicans like to claim they are the party of the tax cuts,” Reid said Tuesday morning before filing for cloture. “But Republicans are every day showing their true colors … they only support tax cuts that benefit the rich.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), anticipating the legislation, argued from the Senate floor earlier in the week that the Democrats’ bill was in fact not a compromise because of that tax hike. 

“The majority leader has yet to introduce legislation that can actually pass the Senate or the House,” said McConnell. “[S]o this is what Washington has been reduced to: a president and a Senate that would rather spend their time doing cheap political theater than giving people the certainty they want.”

Reid on Monday, however, warned, “Republicans in Congress dismiss our plan at their own peril.”