In an abrupt about-face, House Republican leaders Thursday agreed to a two-month extension of a Social Security payroll tax cut and federal unemployment benefits, party aides said.
The move reflects a bowing to demands by the Senate and President Barack Obama and appears to all but assure 160 million workers aren't hit by a two-percentage-point increase in the payroll tax on Jan. 1.
It also would renew jobless benefits for almost two million people without jobs for more than six months and spare doctors from a big cut in Medicare payments. House Republicans were to hold a telephone conference call on the developments later Thursday.
House Republicans balked at the bipartisan Senate bill earlier this week, and their leaders, as recently as Thursday morning, had insisted that the Senate begin talks on a one-year measure passed by the House last week. The Senate passed a two-month extension on Saturday.
The decision came swiftly after the top Republican in the Senate, Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, urged the House to accept a short-term measure.
Their isolation complete, House Republicans began Thursday to cave to demands by President Barack Obama, Democrats and key Republicans for a short-term renewal of payroll tax cuts for 160 million Americans.
Two members of the uncompromising class of House Republican freshmen piled behind the growing call for a short-term extension, developments that suggested the conservative opposition had begun to crumble. Republican House leaders were expected to convene a conference call to discuss whether to change course, according to a House Republican aide who spoke on condition of anonymity.
The statements were fresh signs that House Republicans may not be able to withstand pressure from their constituents and almost every corner of the GOP to get behind the Senate's two-month tax cut extension passed last week with the support of 39 Republicans.
This, as President Barack Obama has underscored that only swift action can head off an increase of two percentage points in the Social Security tax paid by employees.
The rapid-fire developments underscored the fragility of the standoff at a time when Americans deeply disapprove of Congress and are struggling to make it in an economy slowly recovering from. Politics also play a significant role: the standoff put Republican presidential candidates in an awkward position fewer than two weeks before the Iowa caucuses that begin the nomination process, on the cusp of the 2012 elections.
