Pelosi, Hoyer, Clyburn Call on Speaker Boehner to Ensure Passage of Unemployment Insurance, Payroll Tax Holiday, SGR

Washington, D.C. – Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer, and Assistant Democratic Leader James E. Clyburn sent a letter today to Speaker John Boehner calling on him to ensure passage of three pieces of essential legislation prior to the end of the year, either as part of the CR or as freestanding bills:

• Extension of Unemployment Insurance for those who lost their jobs through no fault of their own.

• Extension and expansion of the Payroll Tax holiday that would ensure that virtually every working American receives a tax cut.

• Extension of the SGR to ensure that millions of seniors do not lose access to their Medicare physicians.

As the Democratic leaders wrote, “independent economists from across the political spectrum estimate that failure to pass these essential pieces of legislation could reduce economic growth by ¬¬as much as 2 percentage points next year.”

Pelosi, Hoyer and Clyburn assured Boehner of their commitment to passing a bipartisan Continuing Resolution when the House returns from the Thanksgiving break.

Below is the full text of the letter.

November 22, 2011

The Honorable John Boehner
Speaker of the House
H-232, The Capitol
Washington, D.C. 20515

Dear Mr. Speaker:

When the House returns from the Thanksgiving break, the Continuing Resolution for the remainder of 2012 will be a major priority for the Congress. The current CR, which expires on December 16¸ was passed without controversy last week. Members of the Democratic Caucus are committed to taking similar bipartisan action to ensure the continued functioning of the government into the New Year.

On behalf of House Democrats, we offer our assurances that Democrats will offer no amendments to the CR that would cause any delay in its consideration or enactment. In particular, we oppose inclusion of any earmarks or controversial “riders” that would jeopardize the provision of governmental services and security for the American people. We owe that to the American people.

We urge that you join us in ensuring passage of three pieces of essential legislation prior to the end of the year, either as part of the CR or as freestanding bills, free from controversial policies that would endanger these vital programs:

• Extension of Unemployment Insurance for those who lost their jobs through no fault of their own. Without extension of this bipartisan program, one million Americans will lose UI in January, and that number will more than double in February, creating personal crises for millions of families and jeopardizing economic recovery.

• Extension and expansion of the Payroll Tax holiday enacted earlier this year. Failure to extend and expand this holiday, which had been included in President Obama’s American Jobs Act, would raise taxes on every working American on January 1, 2012 and slow economic growth significantly.

• An extension of the SGR to ensure that millions of seniors do not lose access to their Medicare physicians.

As you know, independent economists from across the political spectrum estimate that failure to pass these essential pieces of legislation could reduce economic growth by ¬¬as much as 2 percentage points next year. As you also know, Democrats are committed to working with you to identify appropriate savings over the long-term, once economic recovery has taken hold, to offset costs for extensions of the SGR and Payroll Tax holiday. We look forward to working cooperatively with you and the Republican Conference to ensure that the urgent needs and economic security of millions of Americans are addressed on a timely and bipartisan basis during the coming holiday season.

Thank you for your attention to this letter and again, a Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family.

best wishes,

Nancy Pelosi
Democratic Leader

Steny Hoyer
Democratic Whip

James E. Clyburn
Assistant Democratic Leader

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