Politics & Government

Bono Mack Follows Party Line On Payroll Tax

The vote means an average family could have less in its paycheck in early January because the tax cuts expire on Dec. 31.

Rep. Mary Bono Mack, R-Palm Springs, joined with House Republicans Tuesday in rejecting a Senate approved two-month stopgap extension of payroll tax cuts and jobless benefits.

The House previously passed a one-year extension and wants to work out a compromise with the Senate, which passed the two-month extension over the weekend.

Bono Mack voted in favor of sending the bill to a conference for negotiation, according to Ken Johnson, Bono Mack's senior advisor.

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The Congresswoman said in a statement that "Americans want and deserve the certainty of a year-long tax break."

"While I am still hopeful we will get this important issue resolved soon, it’s simply irresponsible to keep kicking the can down the road," Bono Mack said. "Unfortunately, Senator Reid is ignoring the Constitution and the Senate’s own rules of procedure, which call for a conference committee to resolve the differences between bills passed in the House and Senate."

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She called on the Senate to "give them (working Americans) a significant tax cut for all of next year, not for just part of it.”

Bono Mack wrote on her official Facebook wall on Dec. 13 that she voted for a year-long extension of the payroll tax cut in H.R. 3630.

“This extension will save an average family more than $1,000 a year without adding a penny to the federal debt,” Bono Mack wrote on her Facebook wall.

Making matters complicated, the Senate has already adjourned for the year. The tax cuts and jobless benefits will expire on Dec. 31.


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