The Star Online: World Updates
The Star Online: World Updates |
- U.S. House Republicans push for new payroll tax cut talks
- U.S. payroll tax cut extension stuck in partisan fight
- Jeered in Moscow, Putin seen as hero in province
| U.S. House Republicans push for new payroll tax cut talks Posted: 19 Dec 2011 08:15 PM PST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Republican-led U.S. House of Representatives will set the stage on Tuesday for a showdown with Senate Democrats over a payroll tax cut extension that is becoming a proxy for 2012 election year battles.
The tax legislation has become the latest in a string of battles in Congress this year, all of which have contributed to widespread public discontent with Washington politicians. When the House votes on Tuesday it will in effect be rejecting a bill that passed the Senate overwhelmingly on Saturday and calling for formal negotiations with the Democratic-led Senate. The Senate bill would set a two-month extension of the payroll tax cut with the aim of crafting a full-year tax cut extension early next year. The House move will cast doubt on the future of the popular payroll tax cut, which is caught up in a high-stakes game of brinkmanship between the two political parties that some say could backfire. Washington gridlock is fuelling an anti-incumbent mood among voters heading into next year's elections. "Our members do not want to just punt and do a two-month short-term fix where we have to come back and do this again," House Speaker John Boehner said late on Monday after a closed meeting with fellow Republicans. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid shot back that the House should allow an up-or-down vote on the two-month stop-gap plan. "I am happy to continue negotiations on a yearlong deal as soon as the House of Representatives passes the Senate's bipartisan compromise, and prevents a tax hike from hitting middle-class families," Reid said. Several Republican lawmakers publicly agreed with Reid. The bipartisan two-month deal crafted by the Senate came after efforts at a full-year tax cut failed. At stake is much more than politicians' reputations and their 2012 re-election chances. If Democrats and Republicans cannot agree on extending the tax cut that expires on December 31, 160 million Americans will begin 2012 with less money - about $1,000 (644.33 pounds) a year for the average worker - in their paychecks. That, economists fear, could dampen, or even end what little economic growth there is as the United States struggles to right itself after the deepest recession in decades and severe debt problems in Europe that could infect America. Not only would workers' taxes go up in a couple weeks if the two sides cannot find a quick compromise. About 2.2 million people who have suffered long-term unemployment will see benefit checks cut off by the middle of February. And doctors treating elderly Medicare patients also will see their reimbursements cut. Once the House on Tuesday requests a new round of negotiations, as expected, the next steps are unclear. "We are not coming back, we are not appointing negotiators until they pass the Senate compromise," Reid's spokesman Adam Jentleson insisted. President Barack Obama already has delayed a Hawaii vacation. White House Press Secretary Jay Carney on Monday said, "The president has made clear that he wants Congress to get this done, that he is here now and will be here as Congress tries to sort this out." But Carney did not make clear how Obama might bring the two sides together, or whether he will even try. (Editing by Christopher Wilson) Copyright © 2011 Reuters Full content generated by Get Full RSS. | ||
| U.S. payroll tax cut extension stuck in partisan fight Posted: 19 Dec 2011 06:33 PM PST WASHINGTON (Reuters) - With a tax cut for 160 million U.S. workers set to expire in less than two weeks, Republicans and Democrats in Congress on Monday were mired in a last-ditch battle over extending it.
In a surprise turnabout, Republicans in the House of Representatives are now pushing for a one-year extension of the payroll tax cut and have rejected a short-term compromise struck by Republicans and Democrats in the Senate at the weekend. House Republicans had initially expressed concerns over the economic benefits of renewing the tax break, which expires on December 31, and soon-to-expire jobless benefits. The House is set to vote sometime during the day on Tuesday to formally request negotiations with the Senate on a new bill. But the path to compromise was far from clear as Democrats took a hardline stance and accused House Republicans of reneging on the deal between their brethren and Democrats in the Senate. Democratic Senate leader Harry Reid said he was unwilling to reopen negotiations. Almost all senators have already left Washington for the holidays and the Democratic-controlled chamber has no legislative business scheduled until January 23. The stand-off between Republicans and Democrats raised the spectre of a $1,000 (644.58 pound) tax hike on the average American worker and millions of unemployed losing their benefits. One influential economist told Reuters that failure to extend the tax break heightened the possibility of a U.S. recession in 2012. The rebellion by House Republicans against the Senate deal, which had the blessing of Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell, raised fresh questions about Speaker John Boehner's control over his restive caucus, which has repeatedly balked this year at compromising with Democrats. At issue is a phone call between Boehner and rank-and-file members on Saturday. A veteran House Republican member, who asked not to be identified, told Reuters Boehner initially backed the Senate deal but back-pedalled after being caught off guard by the angry response of members. Boehner has since denied flip-flopping on the issue. Boehner has struggled to control his caucus, which includes scores of Tea Party-affiliated members elected to Congress in the November 2010 elections, propelled by voters furious about a bad economy and government spending. A House Republican aide, who asked not to be identified, said McConnell kept Boehner informed of last week's Senate negotiations. But the aide declined to elaborate when asked by Reuters whether the Speaker had pushed back against the two-month extension. DEEPENING DYSFUNCTION At least two Republican senators blasted House Republicans for refusing to approve the Senate deal. "The House Republicans' plan to scuttle the deal to help middle-class families is irresponsible and wrong," said Republican Senator Scott Brown. Senator Richard Lugar said House members must do what is "best for the country" and pass the Senate measure. Without a deal, workers' payroll taxes will rise on January 1 to 6.2 percent, from the current 4.2 percent. Some unemployment benefits, now at 99 weeks amid the weak economy, also would begin phasing out early next year, ending benefits for millions of people who have been jobless for an extended period. The end-of-year fight caps a tumultuous year and will deepen the sense of dysfunction in Washington. This latest battle caught even cynical Capitol Hill watchers by surprise. Credit rating agencies are already sceptical Washington's politicians have the political will to steer the country through global economic instability. Americans heading to the polls in 2012 have also lost confidence in Congress, opinion polls show. For much of 2011, Republicans and Democrats sparred over spending, debt levels and taxes, bringing the government to the brink of shutdown and costing the United States its prized AAA credit rating from Standard & Poor's rating agency. Now, some economists are predicting even worse times ahead if Congress fails to renew the payroll tax cut. Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Analytics, speaking to Reuters Insider, bluntly warned: "I do think recession odds will rise quite significantly early next year if it is not extended." Zandi said most of the impact would be felt in the first half of 2012, at a time when the U.S. economy is most exposed to risks from a debt-riddled Europe and a continuing U.S. housing foreclosure crisis. If the House formally requests negotiations with the Senate, as expected, Reid will have to decide whether to reverse course and bring senators back to do more legislating. Before voting to request new talks with the Senate, the House is expected to defeat the Senate-passed bill, according to a House Republican aide. If Reid then refuses to engage in new negotiations, it's unclear if lawmakers would find yet another way to avoid having the payroll tax revert to its pre-2011 6.2 percent, at least until early next year when Congress starts its 2012 session. (Additional reporting by Rachelle Younglai, Kim Dixon and Thomas Ferraro; editing by Todd Eastham) Copyright © 2011 Reuters Full content generated by Get Full RSS. | ||
| Jeered in Moscow, Putin seen as hero in province Posted: 19 Dec 2011 06:20 PM PST KYZYL, Russia (Reuters) - Vladimir Putin, faced with mass protests in large cities, has received a hero's welcome in the remote Russian region of Tyva where he campaigned to mobilise his core supporters ahead of the presidential election in March 2012.
Tens of thousands of people have protested this month in Moscow and other cities against alleged fraud in the December 4 parliamentary election. Many directed their anger at Putin, who has ruled Russia since 2000. In Tyva, a region on the border with Mongolia five hours by air from Moscow, the mood on Monday was different. Hundreds of locals, many wearing colourful local hats and overcoats, braved temperatures well below freezing to catch a glimpse of Putin. "Putin is our leader, it is so good he could make it here," said Eres Khuruk, adding that he had waited in the cold in the barren steppe for two hours with his wife to shake Putin's hand and watch the ceremony of a railroad construction launch. Putin hammered a golden spike at a spot outside the capital Kyzyl to mark the start of construction of Tyva's first railroad which will link the region, known for its wildlife and natural resources, to the Trans-Siberian Railway. Workers and local residents rushed to Putin when he finished, trying to shake his hand, shouting "Vladimir Vladimirovich" and taking pictures. Putin looked confused as he moved through the exhilarated crowd. "You should not wash your hands now," one worker told a female colleague who has just shaken Putin's hand and was smiling happily. "I managed to hold his hand for the whole of 10 seconds," another worker said. When completed, the 400-km (250-mile) railway will transport Tyva's coal and other mineral resources to markets such as Japan, China and South Korea as the region seeks to repeat the success story of neighbouring Mongolia. Putin's United Russia party scored over 85 percent of votes in the Buddhist region of 300,000 and many people have said they will vote for Putin again in the presidential election. Very few had heard of the protests in Moscow. Putin's advisers are seeking to spin the protests as a whim of Moscow-based intellectuals who represent a tiny minority while the rest of the vast country still backs the 59-year-old leader. "He is a sportsman and I am a sportsman. I respect him very much," Aidar, a sumo wrestler, said. "Moscow is very far," he added when asked what he thought of the protests. Putin is a frequent guest in Tyva, one of Russia's most exotic corners. In 2007 he took Monaco's Prince Albert to the region for a rafting journey down the Yenisei River and a tour of an ancient Uigur fortress. Widely circulated pictures of Putin riding a horse bare-chested and swimming across the river were taken in Tyva during his 2009 holiday. The region's head, former martial arts fighter Sholban Kara-Ool, sought to express his indignation at Moscow protests when he met with Putin. "Sometimes things we see in the mass media make us outraged. I just wanted to tell you what simple people think about it," Kara-Ool told Putin. "Let's talk business," Putin responded, interrupting him. "What is the situation in the republic?" Copyright © 2011 Reuters Full content generated by Get Full RSS. |
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