Not even holiday spirit, it seems, can break gridlock in the nation's capital.
House Republicans refused to do an up-or-down vote on a bipartisan Senate compromise to extend a payroll tax holiday and emergency unemployment benefits that expire Dec. 31. That stopgap bill – paid for by higher fees on mortgage lenders – would give Congress time to hash out how to pay for a longer-term extension.
Instead, House Republicans voted to send the bill to "conference" – i.e., more delays. That failure to act has real-world consequences.
On Jan. 1, unemployment checks will stop for 2.5 million jobless Americans, including more than 300,000 Californians, who need that lifeline to pay for groceries, gas, heat, rent.
And payroll taxes will go up for 160 million Americans who are working, at a time when recovery remains fragile.
House Republicans still can do an 11th-hour rescue before Christmas – a straight up-or-down vote on the Senate compromise that the president would sign immediately.
Pass the stopgap bill.
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