U.S. House Speaker John Boehner agreed today to support a two-month extension of the payroll tax cut while House and Senate members negotiate legislation to keep the tax cut throughout 2012. Follow me after the jump for details on Boehner’s deal and early reaction from Iowans in Congress.  

Russell Berman and Alexander Bolton reported for The Hill on the House leaders’ “cave”:

Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) announced the agreement with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) Thursday evening after briefing rank-and-file House Republicans on a conference call. The House has agreed to pass a version of the Senate’s two-month payroll tax cut legislation, with a fix demanded by Republicans to make implementation easier. […]

According to a lawmaker who participated in the House GOP conference call, Boehner told the rank-and-file members that a deal was struck and the deed had been done. Unlike an extended phone call on Saturday, where members voiced extreme opposition to a Senate compromise, the Thursday conference call was one-way, and members were only allowed to listen in. […]

“I don’t think this is any time for celebration,” Boehner said as he announced the agreement in the basement of a nearly empty Capitol.

Asked if he caved on the issue, the Speaker replied: “You know, sometimes it’s hard to do the right thing, and sometimes it’s politically difficult to do the right thing.”

“We were here fighting for the right thing,” he added. “It may not have been politically the smartest thing in the world, but I’m going to tell you what: I think our members waged a good fight.”

Berman and Bolton note that Boehner plans to pass a new bill that is virtually identical to legislation that cleared the Senate on Saturday. The idea is to approve the new bill by unanimous consent in the House first, then the Senate. Most members of Congress have already gone home for the holidays, but if any lawmaker objects to passing the deal by unanimous consent, the House and/or Senate will be called back into session to vote on the bill before the end of December. That’s when the payroll tax cut, extended unemployment benefits, and a “doc fix” to Medicare reimbursements are scheduled to expire.

All three Iowa Democrats in the U.S. House issued statements about the payroll tax cut today. I enclose those statements below and will add comments from Republicans Tom Latham (IA-04) and Steve King (IA-05) if they appear later. Bleeding Heartland published earlier comments on this issue from Bruce Braley (IA-01), Dave Loebsack (IA-02), Leonard Boswell (IA-03), and Latham here. Latham warned that a two-month extension would increase “uncertainty” and “confusion” in the economy.

Braley’s statement alluded to his recent vote for a GOP bill to extend the payroll tax cut:

Braley Statement on Middle Class Tax Cut Extension Developments

Waterloo, IA – Rep. Bruce Braley (IA-01) today released the following statement after news reports indicated that House Republicans were on the verge of agreeing to vote on a bipartisan compromise to extend the middle class payroll tax cut for two months:

“Finally, some common sense seems to be breaking through the partisan games dominating Washington.  Extending the middle class tax cut is vital to our economic recovery and creating jobs.  Today’s developments hopefully mean that middle class families can breathe easier knowing their taxes won’t go up by $1,000 on January 1st.

“This isn’t a Democratic issue or a Republican issue – it’s just good for Iowa.  That’s why I broke with my party last week to support the Republican plan to extend the tax cut.  It’s why I supported the bipartisan Senate plan to extend the tax cut earlier this week.

“The sooner the House can vote on a middle class tax cut extension, the better.  I’m ready and able to come to Washington to vote for the middle class tax cut extension again.  I’m glad my third vote for this tax cut will be the charm.”

Loebsack welcomed today’s news:

Washington, D.C. – Congressman Dave Loebsack released the following statement regarding the recent developments on the status of the tax cuts for working families.

“I am pleased Iowans will finally have some security knowing that they won’t see their taxes raised by $1000 at the beginning of the new year.  I hope the Speaker moves forward with his announcement quickly and brings the bill up for a vote as soon as possible.  

“While today’s development is a positive step forward and a breakthrough of the partisan games being played in Washington, I strongly urge those on the conference committee to begin their work immediately so the same problem does not repeat itself in two months.”

Today, the Speaker of the House agreed to bring up and pass the bipartisan legislation that was passed by the Senate earlier this week.  At the same time, the Senate agreed to name members to the conference committee to work out an agreement on a yearlong extension of the payroll tax.  If this pay roll tax cut was not extended, an Iowa family making $50,000 a year would see their taxes go up by $1,000.

Boswell’s statement focuses on the standoff and was presumably written before Boehner agreed to support the Senate’s approach to this issue:

Boswell releases statement on Republicans’ stonewalling of payroll tax cuts for working Americans

Des Moines, IA – Congressman Leonard Boswell (IA-3) today released a statement on the ongoing payroll tax impasse.

If House Republicans continue their refusal of the bipartisan compromise to extend the payroll tax holiday, nearly 160 million Americans will be forced to pay more taxes, 2.2 million will lose their unemployment benefits and 48 million could lose access to their doctors.

“House Republicans are quickly finding out they are alone on this issue. Even Senate Republican Minority Leader Mitch McConnell today came out against members of his own party and said the House should pass the extension so we may continue to work towards a long-term agreement,” said Boswell.

“We are coming down to the wire here and the only thing keeping taxes from being raised on the middle class – who cannot afford to pay more – is Speaker Boehner and his fellow House Republicans. Let’s face reality, do the right thing and get this bill to the floor.”

Nearly 1.7 million Iowans would be affected by inaction on the tax cut extension resulting in an average family to be forced to pay $1,020 in additional taxes over the course of the next year.

Any relevant thoughts are welcome in this thread.

UPDATE: Boswell’s re-election campaign sent out this fundraising e-mail on December 22 (emphasis in original). Latham will be his opponent in the new IA-03 next year.

Dear [desmoinesdem],

It is hard to believe what is going on in Washington right now with the payroll tax. There are just 9 days left until the end of the year and taxes on hard-working Americans go up.

Republicans have a chance to stop it though and my opponent could have BUT instead he voted NO and then skipped on home for the holidays leaving Iowa’s families holding the bag.

When Democrats demanded a vote on the payroll tax cut Wednesday, Republicans cut their microphones, and Speaker John Boehner even cut off the TV cameras to silence us!

But, we can send a powerful message today.

December 31st is the most critical FEC reporting deadline we will face this year. We need to raise $5,000 more before the deadline to show our opponent, the media and the pundits we have what it takes to win in November.

Contribute $25, $50 or even a $100 today to help us show our strength

The clock is ticking – what will it take before Republicans stand up for Iowa’s families?

Send a powerful message today by helping us meet our goal! Show everyone we have what it takes to win back our majority in Congress and once again move Iowa forward.

Thank you for standing with us.

Sincerely,

Congressman Leonard Boswell

SECOND UPDATE: A new bill extending the payroll tax cut and unemployment benefits passed the House and Senate by unanimous consent on December 23. President Obama signed it into law the same day. The bill also “averted a 27.4 percent cut to Medicare payments for physicians.”

As of the afternoon of December 23, Republicans King and Latham still had not released any statement on the two-month deal. Iowa Democrats Braley and Boswell sent out new press releases, indicating that they want to maximize media attention to the latest developments.

From Braley’s office:

“Iowans can ill-afford any more of the partisanship that dominated the recent debate over extending the middle class tax cut.  This tax cut is just too important to job growth and our economic recovery.

“Thankfully, common sense has finally prevailed and the middle class tax cut will be extended for two months.  Congress must now act to extend the middle class tax cut for a full year.  I’ll keep working to bring Republicans and Democrats together to get this done.  The middle class tax cut is just too important to get dragged down by Washington game-playing again.”

From Boswell’s office:

“I am pleased reason has prevailed over politics and 160 million hardworking Americans will not see their taxes rise in the new year, 2.2 million will continue to receive unemployment insurance and 48 million seniors can keep visiting doctors of their choice. I will continue to support the bipartisan efforts to work towards a yearlong extension so we may guarantee our middle class the economic certainty they deserve.”

THIRD UPDATE: I agree 100 percent with this column by Josh Bivens, an economist. Democratic messaging on the payroll tax cut is maddening, because they sound like Republicans and mostly gloss over the unemployment benefits extension, which will do far more to stimulate the economy.