Rockefeller Votes for Compromise Bill to Continue Payroll Tax Relief and Unemployment Benefits for 2 Months

Press Release

Senator Jay Rockefeller today issued the following statement after he voted for a compromise bill to continue the payroll tax relief for 900,000 working West Virginia families and maintain unemployment benefits for jobless workers for two months.

Rockefeller pledged to continue to fight to keep money in the pockets of struggling working families for all of next year and assist those out of work through no fault of their own.

"My top priorities are creating jobs and helping all the West Virginians working hard to make ends meet," said Rockefeller. "There are signs that the economy is getting better, but the West Virginia families I talk to every day just don't feel that yet. This bill provides needed relief for working families facing hard times by keeping more money in their paychecks, and helping those out of work and searching for jobs to pay their bills and put food on the table. And I have made sure that Social Security is fully protected and remains safe and strong.

"I will fight to continue this critical relief for families for a full year. We are not done here."

The compromise bill will:

Continue the payroll tax relief for another two months -- until February 29 -- to provide relief for struggling working families.
Maintain unemployment benefits for jobless workers for another two months.
Fully protect Social Security -- the Social Security Trust Funds will not lose one penny from this bill.
Be fully paid for by increasing the fees borrowers and lenders pay to Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and the Federal Housing Administration. The original bill that Rockefeller supported would have paid for the payroll tax relief by closing tax breaks and loopholes for millionaires.
This bill would provide critical assistance to people across West Virginia -- including Bob, a working man who lives in Charleston and cares for his mother, who is on a fixed income. He frequently works overtime and odd hours in order to make enough money to just get by. The money that Bob would get if Congress responsibly continues the payroll tax relief would help him pay bills and get needed care for his mother. But if it is not continued, the loss of that money would be devastating to his family finances.

This bill would also help people like Greg from Weirton who worked for a local company for 25 years. But this fall, the plant where Greg work closed and he lost his job. He's been working hard to find a new job, and has enrolled in multiple training programs to help him qualify for good jobs. Without the continuation of unemployment benefits, Greg would have been forced to end his training and get a low wage job just to pay his bills. But because of this bill, he can now continue to get unemployment benefits, finish his training, and then apply for better jobs that require his new skills.

Background:

Part of every paycheck in America goes to payroll taxes. The money from payroll taxes is then set aside by the government for essential programs, like Social Security. In 2011, a new law let working people keep part of their payroll taxes for one year so they could have more money in every paycheck during these tough times. On average that meant $83 more in paychecks each month and $1,000 more for the year. And those dollars then flowed back into the local economy and jobs.

To keep Social Security safe and strong, the government paid the very same amount -- every penny -- into Social Security in place of the taxes. But without this bill, that payroll help would have expired in two weeks. Letting the payroll tax go back up now would mean smaller paychecks for every West Virginian starting in January, and workers would lose around $1,000 over 2012. Just as serious, our economy would slow down, and we would lose this chance to create new jobs.

In letters to Congress last week, both AARP and the Social Security Administration emphatically confirmed that a one-year continuation of the payroll tax relief will not reduce funding of Social Security and will not harm Social Security benefits. That means that the Social Security Trust Funds will not lose one dime because of this tax cut for working families.

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