House Passes Legislation to Extend Payroll Tax Cut, Unemployment Insurance
Press Release
Congressman Chris Gibson announced this evening that H.R. 3630, the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act, passed the House of Representatives by a vote of 234-193.
"The legislation we passed today ensures that hardworking Americans don't see a significant tax hike next year, while at the same time extending unemployment benefits and preventing a massive cut to the reimbursement rates for doctors who provide essential care for seniors. This is a responsible, balanced bill, which is fully paid for with spending cuts, not tax hikes on small business owners," said Congressman Gibson. "We have also included commonsense measures to create jobs, provide a reliable, secure source of energy, and roll back unnecessary EPA overreach. I urge the Senate to act on this legislation swiftly to prevent a tax increase on New York families."
Key provisions of the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act include:
Extends the 2% payroll tax cut for one year, preventing a tax increase on every person who has a job
Reforms the unemployment insurance (UI) program by decreasing the number of weeks from 99 to 59, lifting the ban on drug testing, requiring all recipients to search for work, be in a GED program if they have not finished high school and participate in reemployment services, and allowing States for the first time to operate reemployment programs using UI funds instead of just paying weekly UI checks
Provides a two year fix to the Medicare reimbursement rate for physicians
Extends 100% bonus depreciation for 2012, a pro-growth tax incentive for businesses large and small
Requires the President to make a decision on the Keystone Pipeline within 60 days, which creates 20,000 direct jobs and 100,000 indirect jobs
Include Boiler MACT legislation (previously passed in the House), which protects hundreds of thousands of jobs from excessive EPA regulations.
The bill is fully offset, according to CBO, through provisions including an Obamacare subsidy recapture and reduction to the public prevention slush fund; Medicare premium means testing; a pay freeze for federal workers and Members of Congress; reform to the federal retirement program; and preventing illegal immigrants from receiving refundable child tax credits.
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