(Reuters) - They began this year vowing to slash spending and reduce government.

Republicans in Congress can boast that they have done just that: As 2011 ends, they have wrung $2 trillion in spending cuts from Democrats without conceding a penny in tax increases.

Republicans under pressure over payroll tax cut

2011-12-21T09:30:22Z

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republicans were under growing pressure on Wednesday to agree to a 60-day extension of an expiring payroll tax cut for 160 million workers and end a stand-off with Democrats that threatens to undercut a fragile economic recovery.

If the Congress cannot reach a deal by December 31, the payroll tax American workers pay to fund the

House Republicans push for new payroll tax cut talks

2011-12-20T06:30:34Z

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Republican-led House of Representatives will set the stage on Tuesday for a showdown with Senate Democrats over a payroll tax cut extension that is becoming a proxy for 2012 election year battles.

The tax legislation has become the latest in a string of battles in...

US lawmakers to vote on holiday tax Tuesday

2011-12-19T19:30:24Z

Republican lawmakers escalated a year-end showdown with the White House, putting off a vote on extending a payroll tax holiday demanded by President Barack Obama until Tuesday.

Party leaders in the House of Representatives rejected a compromise hammered out by

House sets Tuesday vote on payroll tax cut talks

2011-12-19T18:00:12Z

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The House of Representatives will vote sometime Tuesday on a Republican plan calling for new negotiations with the Senate on extending a payroll tax cut now set to expire on December 31, House lawmakers said on Monday.

Republicans in the House say they cannot back a S...

Boehner predicts House will kill 2-month tax break

2011-12-19T11:30:19Z

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The top Republican lawmaker on Monday effectively killed a short-term tax break and called on lawmakers to negotiate a full year payroll tax cut extension for 160 million U.S. workers.

"The idea that tax policy can be done two months at a time is the kind of activity we see here in Washington that will put t...

Top Republican predicts House will kill 2-month tax break

2011-12-19T09:30:26Z

"The idea that tax policy can be done two months at a time is the kind of activity we see here in Washington that will put t...

Top Republican predicts House will kill 2-month tax

2011-12-19T09:00:10Z

"The idea that tax policy can be done two months at a time is the kind of activity we see here in Washington that will put t...

Obama faces battle as House vows to block tax deal

2011-12-19T07:30:32Z

US President Barack Obama faced a new political battle Monday after the top Republican in the House of Representatives rejected a two-month payroll tax cut extension already approved by the Senate.

The US Senate passed a two-month payroll tax holiday extension on Saturday,...

White House condemns threat to sink tax cut deal

2011-12-18T20:30:17Z

The White House reacted angrily Sunday to a threat by the top Republican in the House of Representatives to torpedo a two-month payroll tax cut extension already approved by the Senate.

The US Senate passed a two-month payroll tax holiday extension on Saturday, guara...

Obama aide: Republicans playing politics on taxes

2011-12-18T13:30:31Z

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House accused House of Representatives Republicans on Sunday of playing politics with the fate of the payroll tax c...

Obama signs spending bill, averts shutdown

2011-12-18T08:30:26Z

US President Barack Obama on Sunday faced a new congressional gridlock over a payroll tax cut after he signed into law a $1 trillion spending bill, averting a government shutdown.

The US Senate passed the spending bill and a two-month payroll tax holiday extension on Saturday, punting that problem down the road, but not for long.

Obama had initially sough...

House sets Monday votes on payroll tax cut bill

2011-12-18T07:30:26Z

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The fate of legislation in the Congress to extend a payroll tax cut for two months was uncertain on Saturday as the measure appeared to face strong opposition in the House of Representatives.

House leaders announced they have scheduled votes on the Senate-passed bill ...

Senate passes payroll tax cut, spending bill

2011-12-17T19:00:07Z

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Senate on Saturday approved a $1 trillion bill to fund the government and a two-month extension of the payroll tax cut, putting a cap on a contentious political year but setting up a fresh battle for 2012.

Democrats and Republicans were unable to agree on how to cover the cost of extending pa...

US Senate approves tax, pipeline deal

2011-12-17T18:30:16Z

The US Senate passed a $1 trillion spending bill and a two-month payroll tax cut holiday extension Saturday, setting up fresh congressional gridlock for the 2012 election year.

The compromise tax measure further dented President Barack Obama's authority by forcing him to revisit a contentious pipeline plan, and while the legislation passed easily, its short du...

Obama 'pleased' with payroll tax cut

2011-12-17T15:30:20Z

US President Barack Obama said Saturday he was "pleased" with a Senate deal to satisfy his demand to safeguard a payroll tax holiday, but called on lawmakers to extend it for the whole of 2012.

"I am very pleased to see the work that the Senate has done," Obama said at the White House.

"While this agreement is for two months... it would be inexcus...

Senate passes payroll tax cut and spending bill

2011-12-17T14:00:10Z

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Senate on Saturday approved a two-month extension of the payroll tax cut and a $1 trillion bill to fund the government, resolving the latest in a year-long series of tense political stand-offs but setting up fresh battles for 2012.

Democrats and Republicans were unable to agree on how to pay for a full-year extension of the tax cut and long-term unemployment benefi...

Obama welcomes tax cut deal

2011-12-17T10:30:06Z

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama welcomed a deal on Saturday worked out by divided lawmakers to extend a payroll tax cut for U.S. workers by two months and to continue emergency jobless aid.

"This is spending money that also benefits families and businesses and the entire economy, and (the jobless ...

Senate passes two-month payroll tax cut extension

2011-12-17T08:00:11Z

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Senate voted on Saturday to extend a payroll tax cut for two months in legislation that also attempts to force President Barack Obama to approve construction of an oil pipeline.

The Senate overwhelmingly passed the legislation by a vote of 89-10. It is expected to be voted on by the

Republicans tweak Obama with new pipeline gambit

2011-12-16T20:30:47Z

Republicans launched a new bid Friday to make President Barack Obama's effort to extend a tax holiday for 160 million Americans conditional on a contentious US-Canada pipeline project.

The president's conservative foes warned they would not extend the payroll tax cut without a measure designed to speed a decision on building the pipeline, which environmentalists oppose and Obama has ...

Divided lawmakers muster modest tax deal

2011-12-16T18:00:21Z

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Deeply divided U.S. lawmakers on Friday eked out an agreement to extend payroll tax cuts for just two months, and only after Democrats bowed to Republican demands on a controversial oil pipeline.

The deal, which still needs approval of the full Senate and Reuters) - Lawmakers intensified efforts on Friday to extend payroll tax relief for Americans, and it appeared likely that language to speed approval of a controversial oil pipeline might be part of a deal.

With Senate leaders huddling in offices near the Senate chamber in search of a payroll tax cut deal, the Democrats and Republicans for once defused a bitter confrontation.

Negotiators were also considering an extension of a payroll tax cut demanded by President B...

US lawmakers race clock as shutdown looms

2011-12-15T18:30:50Z

The White House and lawmakers held frantic talks to ease a pre-Christmas standoff Thursday, seeking to avoid a government shutdown which would deepen the American public's disdain for its leaders.

After a day of vitriol on Wednesday, President Barack Obama's Democrats and his Repu...

Lawmakers scramble as government shutdown looms

2011-12-15T14:30:30Z

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Lawmakers, urged on by President Barack Obama, raced against the clock on Thursday to keep the government funded beyond Friday and extend a worker tax cut and jobless benefits.

Republicans and Democrats appeared to be backing aw...

Congress pushes for budget, payroll tax deals

2011-12-15T09:00:12Z

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Congress, facing end-of-year deadline pressures and an unhappy electorate, rushed on Thursday to find compromises on legislation to keep the federal government functioning through 2012 and extend a payroll tax cut for 160 million Americans.

After weeks of stuck negotiations and political bickering, Senate leaders said on Thursday they were optimistic a bipartisan c...

White House plays for time in pre-Christmas showdown

2011-12-15T01:30:21Z

The White House asked Congress to pass a temporary spending measure to head off the prospect of a government shutdown as a bitter pre-Christmas standoff escalated with Republicans.

The vast functions of the US government will creak to a halt unless a new one-trillion-dollar" class="inform">dollar spending plan to fund ope...

Democrats mull dropping millionaire surtax

2011-12-14T20:00:14Z

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama and fellow Democrats on Wednesday signaled a willingness to drop a proposed surtax on millionaires, but remained at odds with Republicans in efforts to extend an expiring payroll tax cut for 160 million Americans.

Obama discussed abandoning the surtax, which Republi...

Democrats weigh dropping millionaire tax proposal

2011-12-14T15:00:27Z

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama and fellow Democrats are considering dropping a surtax on millionaires to pay for a payroll tax cut for U.S. workers, a move that would remove a major stumbling block to a compromise deal with Republicans.

Obama discussed the possibility of abandoning t...

Lawmakers in showdown over payroll tax cuts

2011-12-14T06:00:18Z

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republican and Democratic lawmakers were locked in an end-of-year fight on Tuesday that threatens a government shutdown, an effective tax hike for 160 million Americans and the loss of benefits for millions of unemployed.

With just days left to resolve the crisis, both parties accused each other of "playing politics" with Americans' livelihoods even as they tried to ga...

US House adopts Republican tax cut, pipeline plan

2011-12-13T19:31:14Z

Defying President Barack Obama's veto threat, the Republican-led US House of Representatives voted to speed up approval of the controversial US-Canada pipeline known as "Keystone XL."

In a largely party-line 234-193 vote, lawmaker...

House adopts Republican tax cut, pipeline plan

2011-12-13T16:30:45Z

Defying a White House veto threat, the US House of Representatives voted Tuesday to tie a payroll tax cut extension to the swift approval of the controversial "Keystone XL" US-Canada oil pipeline.

Reuters) - The Republican-led U.S. House of Representatives defied a White House veto threat on Tuesday and passed a bill to expedite approval of the Reuters) - A Republican bid to force President Barack Obama to speed up approval of the Keystone XL Pipeline project looked set to pass the Reuters) - The U.S. State Department warned on Monday that a plan by congressional Republicans to fast track the Canada-to-

Obama says to keep standing up to Congress on taxes

2011-12-11T16:30:10Z

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama defended his leadership style on Sunday and said he would keep standing up to Congress as another stand-off over taxes and deficits brewed on Capitol Hill.

In an interview on

Tax fight heads toward expected deal: aides

2011-12-09T21:30:08Z

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democratic and Republican lawmakers skirmished on Friday over plans to extend a payroll tax cut seen as crucial to a fragile U.S. economic recovery, but aides predicted a last-minute deal.

While independent economists say extending the tax cut would boost the economy at a critical time, both parties have been struggling to agree on a compromise deal in a r...

Tax fight brawl heads toward expected deal: aides

2011-12-09T15:30:14Z

While independent economists say extending the tax cut would boost the economy at a critical time, both parties have been struggling to agree on a compromise deal in a r...

White House rejects Republican payroll tax proposal

2011-12-09T15:00:17Z

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The White House rejected on Friday the latest proposal from Republicans in Congress on a payroll tax cut, saying its costs needed to be offset in a balanced away and not with budget cuts exempting the rich.

"We are open to looking at other ways to pay for this, but they have to be economically responsible an...

Republicans tie Keystone pipe to tax cut bill

2011-12-08T15:00:32Z

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - House of Representatives will include approval of a Canada-to-Texas oil pipeline in a payroll tax cut bill, House Reuters) - Republicans in the House of Representatives began to fall into line on Thursday behind a bill to extend an expiring payroll tax break after their leaders sweetened the measure with a provision that President Barack O...

House Republicans fall into line on payroll tax

2011-12-08T11:00:48Z

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republicans in the House of Representatives were falling into line on Thursday behind a bill to extend a payroll tax break for workers after leaders sweetened the legislation with a provision that has drawn a veto threat from Reuters) - President Barack Obama said on Wednesday he wanted answers to the environmental questions about the Keystone XL pipeline, whose delay overshadowed a new U.S.-Canadian border agreement announc...

Obama

2011-01-04T13:33:01Z

President Barack Obama talks with media aboard Air Force One soon after leaving at Hickam Air Force Base in Honolulu, Monday, Jan. 3, 2011, en route to Washington after a family vacation. (AP Photo/Caro...

Congress Health Care

2011-01-03T12:31:31Z

FILE - In this June 8, 2010 file photo, President Barack Obama, listens as Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius speaks during a town hall meeting in Wheaton, Md. Eager to show who's now in charge, the House's new Republican majority plans to vote to repeal President Barack Obama's landmark he...

Obama Africa

2011-01-03T01:30:25Z

FILE - In this July 11, 2009, file photo, a Ghanaian police officer mans a security barrier ahead of the arrival of President Barack Obama, at the Presidential Castle in Accra, Ghana. Obama is quietly but strategically stepping up his outreach to Afr...

Specters Legacy

2011-01-02T10:01:04Z

FILE - In this Sept. 15, 2009, file photo, President Barack Obama embraces Sen. Arlen Specter, D-Pa., at a fundraising event at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia. As Specter leaves the Senate after 30 years of roll calls,...

Obama Congress

2011-01-02T02:30:22Z

FILE - In this Nov. 30, 2010, file photo President Barack Obama makes a statement in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building in Washington about his meeting with Republican and Democratic Congressional leaders. In the president's taped his weekly address from

News on Barack Obama

Boehner surrenders in tax showdown

Speaker Boehner surrenders in tax showdown

Speaker Boehner bows to pressure on tax deal

Senate Republican McConnell tries to end tax impasse

Analysis: Republicans risk backlash in 2012

Republicans under pressure over payroll tax cut

House Republicans push for new payroll tax cut talks

US lawmakers to vote on holiday tax Tuesday

House sets Tuesday vote on payroll tax cut talks

Boehner predicts House will kill 2-month tax break

Top Republican predicts House will kill 2-month tax break

Top Republican predicts House will kill 2-month tax

Obama faces battle as House vows to block tax deal

White House condemns threat to sink tax cut deal

Obama aide: Republicans playing politics on taxes

Obama signs spending bill, averts shutdown

House sets Monday votes on payroll tax cut bill

Senate passes payroll tax cut, spending bill

US Senate approves tax, pipeline deal

Obama 'pleased' with payroll tax cut

Senate passes payroll tax cut and spending bill

Obama welcomes tax cut deal

Senate passes two-month payroll tax cut extension

Republicans tweak Obama with new pipeline gambit

Divided lawmakers muster modest tax deal

US lawmakers race clock as shutdown looms

Lawmakers scramble as government shutdown looms

Congress pushes for budget, payroll tax deals

White House plays for time in pre-Christmas showdown

Democrats mull dropping millionaire surtax

Democrats weigh dropping millionaire tax proposal

Lawmakers in showdown over payroll tax cuts

US House adopts Republican tax cut, pipeline plan

House adopts Republican tax cut, pipeline plan

Obama says to keep standing up to Congress on taxes

Tax fight heads toward expected deal: aides

Tax fight brawl heads toward expected deal: aides

White House rejects Republican payroll tax proposal

Republicans tie Keystone pipe to tax cut bill

House Republicans fall into line on payroll tax

Obama

Congress Health Care

Obama Africa

Specters Legacy

Obama Congress