COMPETING PLANS FOR PAYROLL TAX CUT
Democrats and Republicans generally agree on the bill's pillars: preventing the Jan. 1 expiration of payroll tax cuts and of extra coverage for the long-term unemployed, and avoiding a mandated cut in payments the government sends doctors for treating Medicare patients. Without action, the payroll tax paid by 160 million workers would return to its normal 6.2 percent on Jan. 1, up from 4.2 percent this year. That reduction, enacted in an effort to spur job creation, saved $1,000 this year for a family earning $50,000. Here's a look at their differences:
THE SIZE OF THE BILL
The GOP bill would keep the payroll tax at 4.2 percent through 2012. Obama proposed just a 3.1 percent levy next year and wanted to give similar tax breaks to employers. The Republican bill also would gradually reduce the maximum 99 weeks of unemployment coverage to 59 weeks by mid-2012, coverage many Democrats consider too short with the current weak economy. Without a renewal, about 2 million jobless people would lose benefits by February.
THE POLITICAL MESSAGE
"This package does not include everything Republicans would like, nor does it have all that Democrats have called for," said House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio. "But it is a win for the American people and worthy of the president's signature." White House spokesman Jay Carney derided the GOP package, saying, "Their plan seeks to put the burden on working families while giving a free pass to the wealthiest and big corporations by protecting their loopholes and subsidies."
HOW TO PAY FOR THE MEASURE
Democrats want to finance the bill by boosting taxes on millionaires. Republicans want to pay their bill's price tag -- more than $180 billion -- by extracting money from federal workers, boosting federal fees and requiring higher-earning seniors to pay more for Medicare. Currently only about 7 percent of Medicare recipients pay higher premiums because of their income. Under the proposal, 25 percent would eventually pay higher monthly charges. That would affect not only the wealthy but many retirees who consider themselves solidly middle class. Advocates for the elderly were quick to object, but Republicans said their idea is a virtual clone of an earlier plan by Obama. Upper-income seniors have long paid higher Medicare premiums. But the GOP bill would increase those premiums for single retirees earning more than $80,000, rather than the current $85,000. The threshold for married couples would be $160,000 instead of the current $170,000. In addition, those thresholds would stop growing to reflect inflation until 1 in 4 Medicare beneficiaries were paying the higher premiums.
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
Setting the stage for another clash over the environment, the Republican bill would also head off a proposed Environmental Protection Agency rule curbing pollution from industrial incinerators and boilers.
THE TRANS-CANADA PIPELINE
The marquee dispute appears to be over GOP language that would give the administration two months to issue a permit allowing work on the proposed Keystone XL pipeline, to be built from Canada to Texas. The $7 billion pipeline -- which would run from Alberta and through Montana, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas and Oklahoma before reaching the Texas Gulf coast -- has been fought by environmental groups but favored by labor and business. Obama had delayed a decision on the project until after the November elections. Obama this week said he would reject the overall bill if it included pipeline language. That threat has galvanized conservative support for the overall measure, with Republicans hoping to use Obama's opposition to portray him as favoring environmentalists over jobs.
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