House to Vote Tuesday on Payroll Tax Bill with Keystone Pipeline Deadline

Updated: Monday, 12 Dec 2011, 5:44 PM CST
Published : Monday, 12 Dec 2011, 5:44 PM CST

(NewsCore) - WASHINGTON -- House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) said Monday that the US House will vote Tuesday on legislation to extend a payroll tax cut and shorten the time-frame for approval of an oil pipeline from Alberta, Canada, to Texas.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) has said that the pipeline provision will not pass the Democratic-controlled Senate. The legislation would require President Barack Obama to make a controversial decision on whether to grant a permit for TransCanada Corp.'s Keystone XL crude-oil pipeline within 60 days.

However, Boehner told reporters Monday that he believes the bill has "a good shot" in the Senate.

Obama had delayed a decision on the Keystone pipeline until 2013 due to concerns that it could hurt the environment.

But Boehner, who argues that the pipeline will create thousands of jobs, accused Obama on Monday of postponing the decision beyond the 2012 presidential election for political reasons.

"We've studied this Keystone pipeline now for three years," Boehner said. "All the work has been done, it's passed approval at every level."

The House is scheduled to leave town for the holidays at the end of the week. The speaker did not commit to holding House members in town until the legislation passes the Senate.

"I think we're going to have to wait until later on in the week to see what the Senate does," he said. "The House is going to do its job and it's time for the Senate then to do its job."

If Congress does not act, the payroll tax for employees would revert to 6.2 percent from 4.2 percent starting in January. The House bill would also extend a more modest federal unemployment-insurance program through the end of 2012.

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