The White House and Senate Republicans reached a tentative agreement yesterday that would see a GOP priority, Bush-era tax cuts extended for rich and poor alike, accepted in return for a Democratic priority: extending unemployment benefits to help keep the economy moving. Takeaway Washington correspondent Todd Zwillich watched the deal in the making.
In December, Republicans and Democrats managed to extend a payroll tax cut, unemployment benefits and a fix for Medicare payments. That extension runs out at the end of the month but, at least when it comes to the payroll tax cut, Republicans are willing to offer another extension through the end of the year.
Responding to near-universal condemnation from the White House, The Wall Street Journal op-ed page, and senior members of their own party, the House GOP agreed Thursday to accept a temporary extension of the payroll tax cut and unemployment benefits the Senate approved last Saturday. House Republicans rejected an almost identical proposal on Tuesday. The stunning about […]