Rokita Votes to Reject the Senate's Counterproductive Payroll Tax Gimmick

Press Release

Today Rep. Todd Rokita voted to send HR 3630 to conference committee in order to reach a workable longer-term agreement that continues the payroll tax holiday for a year, provides support for Americans struggling to find work, cuts overall spending, protects the Social Security Trust Fund and reforms entitlement programs:

"A two month extension of the payroll tax holiday simply exacerbates the uncertainty that continues to hurt the economy and prevent the creation of jobs for 14 million unemployed Americans. The Senate needs to put aside the Washington gimmicks and return to work on a serious extension. Together the House and Senate can reach a compromise on a workable longer-term agreement to extend the payroll tax holiday while still cutting overall spending, boosting the economy, protecting the Social Security Trust Fund and enacting small, but important entitlement reforms," Rokita said.

The House version of H.R. 3630 extends the payroll tax holiday for a year, but replenishes the Social Security Trust Fund with cuts to other federal programs. In addition, this legislation extends unemployment benefits, but reforms the process to begin shortening the duration that the unemployed can rely on the program in the future. It also strengthens requirements that recipients of unemployment benefits seek employment and job training, and authorizes the states to drug test current and future recipients of unemployment benefits.

The House version of H.R. 3630 also provides a boost to the economy by requiring President Obama to issue a permit for the Keystone XL pipeline, a project that would create as many as 20,000 American jobs directly and 100,000 indirectly, while moving our nation towards energy security.

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