At a breakfast roundtable with reporters hosted by the Christian Science Monitor, Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) said he will not cross the aisle and support GOP legislation to extend the current payroll tax cut, which is expected to pass the House later today.
“I wouldn’t accept the House bill,” Lieberman said.
Though he’s been a key swing vote on a number of issues throughout his career, Lieberman didn’t explain his opposition to the GOP’s payroll tax bill, which also includes extended unemployment benefits and a patch to prevent Medicare physicians from experiencing a dramatic pay cut next year. But in past years he’s been a leading advocate on Capitol Hill for passing comprehensive climate change legislation, and the House’s bill includes an extraneous provision forcing the Obama administration to decide whether to greenlight the Keystone XL oil pipeline, which would run from the Canadian tar sands through the U.S. to the Gulf of Mexico.
Brian Beutler
Brian Beutler is TPM's senior congressional reporter. Since 2009, he's led coverage of health care reform, Wall Street reform, taxes, the GOP budget, the government shutdown fight, and the debt limit fight. He can be reached at brian@talkingpointsmemo.com.
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