Today, Congressman Henry Cuellar expressed support for the Senate amendment to H.R. 3630, the Middle Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2011, a measure that would have prevented tax hikes for 160 million American families on Jan. 01, 2012, and extended unemployment benefits for 2.3 million of Americans.

“I am dismayed that House Republicans refused to bring up bipartisan legislation that would have provided American middle-class families tax cuts and maintained unemployment benefits to help those who rely on this assistance to make ends meet,” said Congressman Cuellar.

House Republicans did not bring up the Senate amendment to H.R. 3630 for consideration in the House of Representatives, instead they brought up a Motion that the House disagree to the Senate Amendments to H.R. 3630, Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2011 and requested a conference with the U.S. Senate, as well as Democratic Motion to Instruct Conferees. Congressman Cuellar opposed both the motion and the conference.

“This is a trouble-making, not a problem-solving strategy by the House Majority and it is not effective legislating. House Republicans have stepped over a bipartisan bill that passed the Senate with 89 votes, including 80 percent of Senate Republicans and their leadership team. Just last week, the Speaker supported the Senate bill and referred to it as a ‘good deal’. This switch of political gears and refusal to provide tax relief and extend jobless benefits is warped politics and has caused Americans’ record-breaking frustrations with Washington. I am disappointed that the middle-class will welcome the New Year with tax hikes and the unemployed will be impaired by no longer having maintained assistance with jobless benefits.

“I hope that we continue work before leaving for the year to provide relief to Americans. I uphold my promise to protect our families and those who are hit hardest during this fragile economy,” said Congressman Cuellar. 

Background:

The House Republican Leadership brought up for consideration in the House of Representatives a procedural vote on disagreeing to the Senate amendment and requesting a Conference. The motion that the House Disagree to the Senate Amendments and request a Conference with the Senate on H.R. 3630, Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2011 is a motion that would stop the Senate proposal from being enacted into law. The motion was adopted by a vote of 229 – 193. The motion guarantees that the House will not vote on the bipartisan Senate agreement, which 39 Senate Republicans and 50 Senate Democrats supported.

While not brought up for a vote in the House, Congressman Cuellar has expressed support for the Senate’s Amendment H.R. 3630, the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2011 will extend the payroll tax cut and extend unemployment benefits that would be good up to 99 weeks. The bill would have also allowed 48 million Americans on Medicare access to their doctors by addressing Medicare reimbursement rates for doctors to prevent a 27.4 percent cut. The bill also requires the President to grant a permit for the Keystone XL Pipeline project within 60 days. It also includes an extension of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF). Additionally, this bill does not violate CUTGO and would cut the deficit by $3B over the decade, according to CBO.

Additionally, Congressman Cuellar became a cosponsor of the bipartisan Senate compromise bill to extend the payroll tax cut, unemployment insurance and Medicare reimbursement rates to physicians through February 29, 2012. This was supported in the Senate by 89 Senators and gained support from House Democrats with the intention to bring up the bill for a vote.