Speaker John Boehner said the U.S. House will likely pass a $180 billion GOP bill tying a payroll tax cut and more jobless benefits to a divisive oil pipeline.
"The House will vote on the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act - a bill that should pass with bipartisan support," UPI.com quoted Boehner, R-Ohio, as saying Monday, one day before the expected vote.
Crossing party lines, Rep. Dan Boren, D-Okla., said he would vote "yes" on the GOP bill.
The bill links the tax-cut extension to a host of other measures - including a provision that would speed up a decision by the Obama administration on the Keystone XL oil sands pipeline system to transport synthetic crude oil and diluted asphalt, tar and other road- and roof-surfacing materials to the Gulf Coast from Alberta, Canada.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., stated again his opposition to the bundled House GOP bill Monday, and the White House repeated President Barack Obama would veto the measure if it reached his desk.
UPI quoted White House spokesman Jay Carney as asking, "What happened to Republican support for tax cuts?"
"They're so passionate about it when it comes to defending extension of the Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest earners. ... But when it comes to most Americans who get a paycheck - who need that extra 1,000 bucks, or 1,550 bucks next year to make ends meet - they're like, 'Well, not so much, unless I get this,'" he said.
