Extending the Payroll Tax Cut for American Families

Statement

Congress must not go home for the holidays until we extend the payroll tax cut and unemployment insurance, two essential pieces of the President's American Jobs Act. Extending and expanding the payroll tax cut would put $1,500 into the pocket of the typical middle class working American family next year. And if unemployment insurance--every dollar of which yields $1.52 in economic growth--expires, hundreds of thousands of jobs would be lost. Instead of protecting massive tax cuts for the one percent, Republicans should come back to the table and work with Democrats to provide relief to middle class families.

Last week, the Department of Labor reported that the economy gained 120,000 jobs in November and the unemployment rate fell to 8.6 percent. The jobs report sends a clear message: we've made some progress but we still have work to do.

My colleagues and I are committed to initiatives that spur our economy, create more jobs, and put money in the pockets of the American people. Our "Make It in America" initiatives, along with President Obama's American Jobs Act, will put more money in workers' pockets, help small businesses grow and hire, and rebuild America's roads, bridges, and schools while keeping teachers in the classroom, firefighters on the job, and cops on the beat.

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