(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.

Insight: In tax cut debate, a focus on Boehner's leadership

2011-12-21T14:00:13Z

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - In Congress' tense drama over how to extend payroll tax cuts for 160 million Americans, it may be the most intriguing subplot: whether Republican House Speaker John Boehner is losing his grip on members of his own party.

Boehner and many Republicans scoff at the idea.

But the House's rejection o...

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

Insight: Boehner leadership in focus in tax cut debate

2011-12-20T21:00:26Z

Boehner and many Republicans scoff at the idea.

But the House's rejection o...

Insight: Boehner's leadership in focus in tax cut debate

2011-12-20T19:30:37Z

Boehner and many Republicans scoff at the idea.

But the House's rejection o...

Payroll tax cut extension stuck in partisan fight

2011-12-19T12:30:20Z

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - With a tax cut for 160 million U.S. workers set to expire in less than two weeks, Republicans and Democrats in Congress on Monday were mired in a last-ditch battle over extending it.

In a surprise turnabout, Republicans in the House of Representatives are...

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,...

Obama aide: Republicans playing politics on taxes

2011-12-18T14:00:26Z

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

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...

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...

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 Democrats and Republicans for once defused a bitter confrontation.

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

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...

Tax fight gets nastier as government shutdown looms

2011-12-14T14:00:13Z

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States on Wednesday faced the prospect of an imminent government shutdown for the third time this year as a fight between lawmakers in Congress over taxes and spending turned nastier.

With time running out for a deal, President Bar...

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...

Reid determined to cut taxes on middle class

2011-12-14T02:30:50Z

READERS WEIGH IN

A version of this story was posted online at 2 a.m. Thursday. Here is a sampling of comments from our readers.

I do not know if a 2 percent tax cut means that much to middle class. If the average wage is $41,673, then a family of four with one spouse working saves $833.46 a year, or $16.02 a week. If gas prices were $3 a gallon instead of $3.75 and the average person uses 500 gallons a year, then that family would save $1,500.

— ...

Where delegation stands on payroll tax

2011-12-14T02:30:41Z

The Senate shot down another round of proposals Thursday to extend and/or expand a reduction in payroll taxes that expires at the end of the year. Meanwhile, leaders in the House dug in to draft their own payroll tax proposal, one President Barack Obama has threatened to veto.

As the parties settle in for a long fight, Nevada lawmakers have staked out their ...

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) - A bill that would keep the U.S. government operating beyond the weekend appeared in trouble on Tuesday as lawmakers bickered over whether they had resolved policy issues such as abortion funding and travel to Cuba.

The bill has been caught up in a year-end fight between

U.S. spending bill in jeopardy as lawmakers bicker

2011-12-13T11:00:23Z

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A bill that would keep the U.S. government operating beyond the weekend appeared in trouble on Tuesday as lawmakers bickered over whether they had resolved policy issues such as abortion funding and travel to Cuba.

The bill has been caught up in a year-end fig...

Republican Keystone, tax cut bill expect to pass on Tuesday

2011-12-12T17:30:13Z

WASHINGTON (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) - Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell predicted on Sunday that Congress will renew a popular payroll tax cut, but it remained unclear how lawmakers will resolve deep differences before the December 31 deadline.

While he did not unveil a new deal, McConnell signaled that he and others anticipate having one soon.

"We're going ...

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...

House Republicans rally around payroll tax plan

2011-12-08T15:00:10Z

WASHINGTON (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 OSAWATOMIE, Kansas (Reuters) - President Barack Obama turned up the heat on his Republican foes on Tuesday as he portrayed himself as a champion of the middle class and laid out in the starkest terms yet the populist theme...

Boehner New Congress

2011-01-04T15:01:56Z

House Speaker-designate John Boehner of Ohio arrives for a closed GOP conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Jan. 4, 2011. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

House Republican leader John Boehner of Ohio celebrates the GOP's victory that changes the balance of power in Congress and will likely elevate him to speaker of the House, during an election night gathering hosted by the President Barack Obama, joined by Republican and Democratic lawmakers including Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky at right, looks up after signing the bipartisan tax package that extends tax cuts for families at all income levels, during a s...

Texas Redistricting

2010-12-03T11:35:42Z

File - In this Nov. 10, 2009 file photo, Texas state Rep. Tommy Merritt, R-Longview, questions John Bradley during a hearing by members of the Senate Criminal Justice Committee in Austin, Texas. Fast-...

Pushing Social Issues

2010-11-26T12:01:23Z

FILE - In this Dec. 5, 2005, file photo Jennifer Frane, a technician at the WiCell Research Institute, checks on the growth and viability of embryonic stem cells in Madison, Wis. Although fixing the economy is the top priority, incoming

News on U.S. Republican Party

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Speaker Boehner surrenders in tax showdown

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White House takes tax fight to Twitter

Analysis: Republicans risk backlash in 2012

Insight: In tax cut debate, a focus on Boehner's leadership

Republicans under pressure over payroll tax cut

Insight: Boehner leadership in focus in tax cut debate

Insight: Boehner's leadership in focus in tax cut debate

Payroll tax cut extension stuck in partisan fight

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

Obama aide: Republicans playing politics on taxes

House sets Monday votes on payroll tax cut bill

Senate passes payroll tax cut, spending bill

Senate passes payroll tax cut and spending bill

Divided lawmakers muster modest tax deal

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

Tax fight gets nastier as government shutdown looms

Lawmakers in showdown over payroll tax cuts

Reid determined to cut taxes on middle class

Where delegation stands on payroll tax

US House adopts Republican tax cut, pipeline plan

House adopts Republican tax cut, pipeline plan

U.S. spending bill in jeopardy as lawmakers bicker

Republican Keystone, tax cut bill expect to pass on Tuesday

Tax fight heads toward expected deal: aides

Tax fight brawl heads toward expected deal: aides

White House rejects Republican payroll tax proposal

House Republicans rally around payroll tax plan

House Republicans fall into line on payroll tax

Boehner New Congress

Texas Redistricting

Pushing Social Issues