Congress needs to pass an extension to the payroll tax cut and shouldn't adjourn until they do, President Obama said in his weekly address.
"Both parties came together to cut payroll taxes for the typical middle-class family by about $1,000, but that tax cut is set to expire at the end of this month," Obama said. "We can’t let that happen."
Democrats and Republicans leaders support extending the payroll tax cuts, but have different plans on how to offset the cost.
The Republican conference is split on the issue. House Republican leaders plan to add two of their own priority bills to a year-end legislative package that would extend the payroll tax cut and unemployment insurance benefits.
The GOP leaders outlined the tentative plan to rank-and-file members during a closed-door conference meeting Friday morning, where they pressed their divided conference to support extending two of Obama’s top jobs proposals.
"We’re going to keep pushing Congress to make this happen," Obama said. "They shouldn’t go home for the holidays until they get this done."
The president called out congressional Republicans for stalling legislation aimed at helping create jobs and spur the economy.
"Unfortunately, too many Republicans in Congress don’t seem to share that same sense of urgency," he said. "Over the last few months, they’ve said 'no' to most of these jobs bills. 'No' to putting teachers and firefighters back to work. 'No' to putting construction workers back on the job. And this week, they actually said 'no' to cutting taxes for middle-class families."
