WASHINGTON, DC—Congressman Jim Himes (CT-4) today voted in favor of a measure that requires the House and Senate conference members negotiating a compromise on extending the payroll tax cut to strike a deal by next week. In Fairfield County, an extension of the payroll tax cut keeps an extra $675 in the median worker’s paycheck. Families with two workers at that earning level will see twice that benefit.
“The American people have seen Congress postpone decision after decision this year, and now, some of our leaders are playing politics with middle class families’ budgets,” Himes said. “We need a fair deal now that preserves the payroll tax cut for American workers.”
In December of 2010, Congress and the President temporarily lowered the payroll tax from 6.2 to 4.2 percent. At the end of 2011, Congress passed a two-month extension of this cut, which expires at the end of February. The House and Senate have both passed permanent extensions of the payroll tax cut, but an agreement has not been reached between the two Houses. Today, Himes voted on a motion to instruct the House and Senate conferees to file a conference report on the Payroll Tax Continuation Act by February 17.