Deal May Be Near For House Agreement On Senate Bill

CNN:  Source: Possible Deal On Payroll Tax
House Republicans will hold a conference call at 5 p.m. Thursday amid indications of a possible deal to extend the payroll tax cut before it expires on January 1, a top Republican source has told CNN. The development comes hours after Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, called for a short-term extension of the tax holiday as part of a compromise, increasing pressure on House GOP leaders to end their resistance to such a step (Silverleib & Cohen, 12/22).

National Journal: Deal At Hand, Sources Say
Sources tell National Journal that the payroll tax impasse could be coming to an end, with House Republicans ready to agree to a deal that would allow for a short-term extension and a move towards a longer term deal. That deal would have to be sold to an ornery House Republican Conference that has a history of bucking its leadership (Cooper, 12/22).

Reuters:  Impasse Broken In House On Payroll Tax Cut: Senate Aide
House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner has informed Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid that he will set a vote in the House on a Senate-passed two-month extension of the payroll tax cut, a Democratic leadership aide said on Thursday (Ferraro & Cowan, 12/22).

Politico:  Payroll Tax Debate: GOP Ready To Cave
House Republicans are on the verge of caving in to President Barack Obama’s demand for a two-month payroll tax cut extension, as Republican leaders were discussing a plan to slightly tweak the Senate-passed version of the bill and send it back across the Capitol, GOP aides said. The proposal would also include language designed to accelerate negotiations over a full-year deal in January, these sources said. House Republican leaders were scheduled to talk with their rank-and-file colleagues on a 5 p.m. conference call (Allen, Kim & Wong, 12/22).

MSNBC:  End To Payroll Tax Impasse May Be In Sight
House Speaker John Boehner has set a conference call with his Republican members for 5pm Thursday afternoon, a possible prelude to agreeing to a vote on a Senate-passed two-month extension of a package including a payroll tax cut and an extension of unemployment benefits. This news came after two of Boehner’s GOP members called on him to allow the two-month extension to proceed (Curry, 12/22).

ABC News:  House Republicans Cave on Payroll Tax Cuts Extension
House GOP leaders appeared to be adopting a compromise suggested by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell to pass the two-month extension in exchange for the Senate appointing members to a conference committee, which will negotiate a longer-term solution. The proposal won a nod of approval from President Obama and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (Karl, Parkinson & Khan, 12/22).

Washington Post:  House Agrees To Senate Payroll Tax Cut Extension Deal
Top House Republicans ... will brief rank and file members in a conference call this evening, after House Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) was empowered by members to make a deal, a House Republican source said. Under the deal, the House would accept an agreement they have spent days deriding as an irresponsible half-measure. But they would be able to promise quick negotiations over how to extend the tax cut, as Democrats and President Obama have been calling for (Helderman, 12/22).