BOISE, ID – President Obama wants Congress to stay in Washington, D.C. until an extension of payroll tax cuts is authorized. U.S. Senator Mike Crapo is fine with working through the holidays, but as Scott Ki reports he wants to focus on a broader problem.
Tens of millions of Americans will see their taxes increase if an extension is not passed in Congress. The disagreement between Democrats and Republicans is over how to pay for it. Democrats propose a tax increase on wealthier Americans. Republicans prefer government spending cuts. Senator Mike Crapo believes they should focus on the bigger picture.
U.S. Senator Mike Crapo: “I think that the President ought to keep us here in Congress and working for another reason. And that is because our solution to our national debt crisis has not yet been implemented.”
A Congressional “super” committee failed to reach agreement before Thanksgiving on how to save the government $1.2 trillion to avoid automatic budget cuts. Meanwhile, the payroll tax rate for workers will rise from 4.2 % to 6.2 % in January if Congress can’t agree.
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