WASHINGTON (AP) — A compromise bill extending a payroll tax cut and jobless benefits for the long-term unemployed should be enacted, but it's not going to help the economy very much, House Speaker John Boehner said Thursday.

Boehner, R-Ohio, made the remarks hours after bipartisan congressional bargainers announced agreement on legislation extending those provisions through 2012 and heading off a steep cut in reimbursements for physicians who treat Medicare patients. The bill would assure a continued tax cut for 160 million workers and jobless benefits for several million others, delivering top election-year priorities to President Barack Obama and edging a white-hot political battle a big step closer to resolution.

Boehner told reporters the accord is "a fair agreement and one that I support."

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