WASHINGTON – House Republicans will vote down a two-month payroll tax bill approved by the Senate this weekend, saying Monday that short-term solutions create instability for the economy and push the problem of a negotiating a longer deal into next year.  "Americans are tired of short-term fixes. Democrats and Republicans agreed that a payroll tax cut needs to be extended for a full year. The House passed a bill to do just that," said House Speaker John Boehner.  Boehner said the House will vote to disagree with the Senate-backed bill approved Saturday and take their own legislation to conference with Senate negotiators through the regular order of business.  But Senate Democrats say Saturday's vote was expected to be the last one of the year, and they have no plans to return to Washington before the next session in January. They add that they considered the Senate bill a bipartisan compromise. It passed 89-10.  "We're not coming back," said a Democratic aide. "They should pass the two-month, and we start negotiating the year-long. Remember, this is the two-month (Republican Leader Mitch) McConnell negotiated."  However, the Senate has not adjourned for the year, and remains in will be in pro-forma sessions, which are designed to meet the constitutional requirement that if they don't adjourn, they meet every few days. Making a return more complicated is the approval needed from all 100 senators to let the Senate hold any votes before the chamber's late January return.  Without congressional action, the payroll tax would rise 2 percentage points on Jan. 1 -- a boost that Democrats eagerly said would be the GOP's fault. The brinksmanship is a familiar pattern this year between the two parties, who have narrowly averted a federal default and several government shutdowns in past fights.  Extending the payroll tax cut and jobless benefits have been a cornerstone of President Obama's and congressional Democrats' effort to spur a revival of the flaccid economy.  The Senate bill, at a cost of $33 billion, would cut the payroll tax, extend jobless benefits and avoid cuts in Medicare payments to doctors through February. Both sides say they want to renew all three for a full year, but bargainers have so far failed to agree on how to pay for a package that size, which could cost roughly $200 billion.  A conference committee is where the House and Senate can blend differences in their respective bills, but lawmakers can't go to conference unless they are appointed by their leaders.  The House GOP leadership advised its rank and file on Sunday night to expect "significant" votes on Tuesday tied to the payroll tax.  The biggest sticking point to House Republicans is the two month extension approved by the Senate compared to a year in their own bill. Attached in the Senate bill was a "sweetener" for the GOP, which required the president to sign off on a Keystone XL pipeline plan in 60 days or deem it not in the U.S. interest.  Obama had previously said he would make no decision on the Canada-to-Texas pipeline until 2013, allowing him to wait until after next November's elections to choose between two Democratic constituencies: unions favoring the project's thousands of jobs and environmentalists opposed to its potential pollution and massive energy use. Obama initially threatened to kill the payroll tax bill if it included the pipeline language but eventually retreated.  However, other sweeteners could be added if the sides did go to conference.  Added to the chaos is the complaint from payroll companies, who have already started setting withholding tables for next year. If an agreement can't be resolved by the end of the year, many will get hit with a payroll tax increase on Jan. 1.  McConnell offered support for Boehner Sunday. His spokesman, Donald Stewart, said the best way to "provide certainty for job creators, employees and the long-term unemployed is through regular order" -- a term used to describe the normal process of negotiations between the House and Senate.  "They passed a bill, we passed a bill, now they have to work out the differences," a McConnell aide added on Monday.
Congress is edging closer to yet another down-to-the wire showdown as House Republicans shun a bipartisan payroll tax cut bill approved by the Senate and prepare to write a package to please rank-and-file GOP lawmakers clamoring for a more conservative version.