House Democratic leaders released a scaled-down version of a tax and unemployment benefits extension bill Wednesday in an effort to get the measure approved before Congress breaks for its Memorial Day recess.
Under the revised bill H.R. 4213 – The American Jobs and Closing Tax Loopholes Act of 2010 – unemployment health benefits and COBRA subsidies, which would have been extended through Dec. 31 under the original bill, would be extended through Nov. 30 instead.
According to Roll Call, a newspaper covering Capitol Hill, "House leaders shrank the bill's price tag by about $50 billion Wednesday night in the Rules Committee, in a nod to fiscal conservatives' concerns about the size of the package and the deficit. The $127 billion bill would now add $84 billion to the deficit."
Recommended For You
Estimates from the Congressional Budget Office put the bill's price tag at about $144 billion (including cuts on unemployment benefits and COBRA subsidies, along with other trimmed down measures) instead of nearly $200 billion.
Senate and House leaders agreed weeks ago that "Senate leaders would determine what could pass their chamber, and then the House would pass that version," according to Roll Call.
A report from The Hill says Senate Republicans would oppose the package that is supposed to come to the floor this week.
"This extenders bill would add another $130 billion on top of that — more debt in one vote than the administration claimed their health care bill would save over 10 years," Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said on the floor. "This is fiscal recklessness."
With opposition from fiscal conservatives on both sides of the aisle in the way, the measure will be difficult to pass by Memorial Day, a deadline set by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev.
© 2025 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
