‪GOP Sen. Brown slams House for 'playing politics' with tax vote‬

Sen. Scott Brown (R-Mass.) ripped House Republicans for voting to move the Senate-passed payroll tax cut extension to a conference committee.

"It angers me that House Republicans would rather continue playing politics than find solutions," Brown said in a statement. "Their actions will hurt American families and be detrimental to our fragile economy. We are Americans first; now is not the time for drawing lines in the sand."

Brown's comments came just after the House voted for a Senate-House conference committee to reconcile the differences between the two-month payroll tax cut extension passed in the Senate and a yearlong one approved by the House earlier this year. Brown, who faces a tough reelection fight from Democrat Elizabeth Warren, has been outspoken in calling for House Republicans to embrace the Senate extension.

A day earlier Brown said that it would be "irresponsible and wrong" for House Republicans to not pass the Senate bill, which he called a good deal. He said that he did actually "appreciate" the GOP's drive to extend the tax cut for a year but that the two-month bill was worth accepting too.

Sen. Dean Heller (R-Nev.) and Sen. Dick Lugar (R-Ind.) joined Brown on Monday in calling for House Republicans to accept the deal.

"Without a resolution, millions of workers will take home smaller paychecks, and families relying on unemployment benefits will lose their lifeline," Brown continued. "Of all the ugly partisanship that has disappointed the nation this year, this latest episode will hurt hard working Americans directly and immediately. Both parties need to get back to the drawing board and work together for the benefit of our country."

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