Scheduling

Now that House Republicans have agreed to the two-month payroll tax holiday extension, things will move quickly so Congress can leave for what now looks to be an actual Christmas break.

The Senate meets at 9:30 a.m. Friday morning for a pro forma session, and intends to pass the adjusted two-month extension by unanimous consent. Senate Democrats said Thursday that they see GOP demands for a change in the bill as a technical correction that is easy to make.

The hubbub of the last few days has quickly faded, and will now be replaced by a few quiet pro forma sessions in both the House and Senate for the rest of this year. These brief and usually uneventful sessions will only be interrupted if either party decides there is work to be done on the payroll tax bill.

As of Wednesday morning, House Republicans were looking to hold a conference with the Senate over the bill, and want a one-year payroll tax holiday extension (along with extended unemployment insurance, the "doc fix" and other reforms). House Republicans were even planning a meeting with House GOP conferees Wednesday afternoon, but they will meet alone — House Democrats have not named conferees, and the Senate has not named any.

The House meets at 9 a.m. to take up a rule that would allow an hour of debate on each of two motions related to the payroll tax bill, and one House resolution expressing support for the House version of the tax bill.

The rule itself will be debated for one hour, and its passage will set up debate and votes on the three covered measures. The House Rules Committee approved the rule late Monday.

Votes are expected to take place between 10 p.m. Monday and 2 a.m. Tuesday.

House Republicans are hoping to set up a bicameral conference on the payroll-tax bill, which House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) said would allow the chambers to work out their differences on the bill.

“I expect that the House will disagree with the Senate amendment, and instead vote formally to go to conference,” Boehner told reporters Monday morning.

The House plans to vote at 6:30 p.m. on a motion to accept the Senate bill, which extends the payroll-tax holiday and unemployment insurance for just two months, and offsets the $32.2 billion cost with higher user fees at Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

The GOP plan raises the question of whether the Senate will come back to negotiate with the House and pass any agreed compromise. Senate Democrats have indicated they are done for the year, and will only return for pro forma sessions.

The House returned at 10 a.m. Monday as scheduled, but quickly recessed subject to the call of the chairman (4 p.m. expected).

The recess allows Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) to hold a 10:15 a.m. news conference, during which he could reveal more details about House plans for proceeding Monday.

House Republicans are expected to call up — and defeat — a motion to accept the Senate payroll-tax-holiday bill. If they do, the House is then expected to either approve a motion to conference with the Senate on the bill and seek changes, or propose its own payroll-tax bill.

It's not over yet.

House Republicans will return to work Monday, and have vowed to either amend the Senate-passed payroll tax holiday extension or pass a motion to conference with the Senate for the same purpose.

House Republicans said over the weekend that they can't support the Senate's two-month extension of the payroll tax cut and unemployment insurance, plus a two-month solution to the Medicare physician reimbursement problem.

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) said Friday afternoon that the House would adjourn today and likely return Monday to finish up the payroll tax holiday bill.

Cantor said the Senate is still considering the bill, which also would extend unemployment insurance and make a host of reforms favored by Republicans. 

After lengthy talks Thursday, the two parties agreed on a final omnibus spending bill, and both the House and Senate are expected to approve it today.

Passage would (once again) just barely meet the deadline of midnight tonight before the federal government runs out of money. It also again shows the leverage House Republicans have over the process — earlier in the week, Senate Democrats were insisting on moving the payroll tax cut extension bill first, while Republicans said the spending bill should take priority.

The House and Senate meet with just two days to find a way to fund the government past Friday.

Much of the progress will depend on the Senate. On Wednesday, Senate Democrats wanted to vote on the House payroll tax bill, which will fail in the Senate, before taking up a spending bill. That seemed to reflect the worry Democrats have that approving the spending bill would allow House Republicans to leave for the year, sticking the Senate with a payroll tax bill that Democrats oppose.

Senate Republicans were insisting that the funding bill be disposed of first, particularly given the Friday deadline, but Senate Democrats have refused to sign the conference report on a 2012 spending bill.