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Congressman Bob Latta (R-Bowling Green) issued the following statement regarding the Senate’s two-month proposal for the extension of the payroll tax reduction, unemployment insurance, and the physician reimbursement rate for Medicare:

“The American people deserve a one year extension of tax certainty. Last week, the House approved a yearlong solution that preserves payroll rates, renews unemployment benefits for 13 months and ensures for two years that seniors’ have access to their doctors.

“The Senate’s ill-advised two-month extension of the payroll tax reduction, unemployment insurance, and Medicare physician reimbursement rates kicks the can down the road and generates uncertainty among hardworking families. The road to prosperity needs economic certainty, and the Senate’s so-called tax relief plan fails to provide hardworking families with the security they need to plan ahead in tough economic times.

“The short-term fixes by the Senate have to stop and I urge Senate Majority Leader Reid to call back the Senate from their vacation and work with House Republicans to ensure a worker earning $50,000 next year has $1,000 more in their pocket, as opposed to the current Senate proposal that would only give workers $167 extra in take-home pay.”

On Monday, the policy-neutral National Payroll Reporting Consortium (NPRC) said the two-month extension of the payroll tax was unworkable. According to the NPRC, the Senate amendment to H.R. 3630, the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act "...could create substantial problems, confusion and costs affecting a significant percentage of U.S. employers and employees.”