Moments ago, the Republican-controlled House of Representatives voted 229-193 to walk away from a bipartisan compromise that would have extended for two months both the payroll tax cut for 160 million working Americans and long-term unemployment benefits for millions of jobless Americans, as well as stopped automatic cuts to Medicare reimbursement rates for doctors that are scheduled for Jan. 1, 2012. Seven Republicans joined every Democrat in opposing the motion to abandon the Senate’s compromise plan and instead move to a House-Senate conference committee.
A straight up-or-down vote on the Senate compromise was originally scheduled for last night, but Republican leaders were forced to abandon the vote after it became clear that the compromise plan, which passed the Senate 89-10 on Saturday, might pass with the overwhelming majority of Democrats and some Republicans voting in favor. Instead, the House Republican leadership, under pressure from the Tea Party, used a procedural maneuver to avoid an up-or-down vote on the bipartisan deal.
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