Politics & Government

Rep. Murphy Opposes 'Senate Gimmick'

Murphy said 'Congress can do better than an eight-week band-aid.'

Tuesday, the House of Representatives voted to enter formal negotiations with the Senate to resolve differences over H.R. 3630, the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act.

The Senate version shortened the timeframe of the Social Security payroll tax break, unemployment benefits and Medicare physician reimbursements down to just two months.

U.S. Rep. Murphy, who last week supported a full-year extension of the payroll tax break, voted in favor of creating a House/Senate Conference Committee to get to work on delivering the president the full-year extension he requested.

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“As families and small businesses sit down to pay off year-end bills and plan out their budgets for next, Congress can do better than an eight-week band-aid. The Senate proposal is a gimmick not a solution,” said Rep. Tim Murphy, R-Upper St. Clair, in a release.

“In uncertain times, the one-year proposal already adopted by the House makes certain that next year, taxes are kept low and jobs are created.

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“I also can’t support legislation that removes critical taxpayer protections, such as permitting drug testing for those who seek unemployment benefits. And, the House bill ensures seniors can continue seeing their Medicare doctors through 2013 instead of Feb. 29, 2012. The Senate plan is simply bad policy all around.”

On Monday, the National Payroll Reporting Consortium (NPRC) weighed in with both House and Senate Leadership on concerns that the Senate bill “as written could create substantial problems, confusion and costs affecting a significant percentage of U.S. employers and employees.” 

The NPRC noted that the Senate plan would force new costs onto employers who would have to reprogram their accounting systems to implement a short-term fix.

Last week, the House passed with Congressman Murphy’s support a fully-offset, one-year extension of the payroll tax cut and unemployment insurance (UI) benefits that would incorporate important reforms and protect working Americans from a tax increase without adding to national debt. 

“I urge Senate Majority Leaders to do the right thing and call the Senate back to work from vacation to get this resolved.”


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