Amodei to vote to extend payroll tax holiday and unemployment benefits

IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Brian Baluta (202) 225-6155

December 13, 2011

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Congressman Mark Amodei (NV-2) announced today that he will vote in favor of H.R. 3630, the Middle Class Tax Relief & Job Creation Act of 2011, which would provide a fully offset extension of the current payroll tax holiday, an extension of emergency federal unemployment benefits, as well job creation incentives, among other provisions. The legislation would provide assistance to Americans suffering in the recession, while ensuring that these policies will not add to the ballooning federal deficit.

"It's important to me that the extension of these benefits, on which many Americans currently depend, does not worsen one of the principle threats to our economy and our nation's future -- that being the $15 trillion federal debt," said Amodei. "This legislation also recognizes that unemployment services should focus on helping Americans actually get back to work rather than subsidizing benefits for an unprecedented, unending period of time."

The cost of the bill is offset by freezing pay for members of Congress and federal workers, reforming unemployment insurance, reducing subsidies, and getting rid of waste, fraud and abuse in some Washington programs. In addition, the bill would provide new incentives for job creation by removing burdensome Environmental Protection Agency regulations and taking action on the bipartisan Keystone XL energy project, which would immediately create 20,000 jobs, with the potential for 100,000 to 200,000 additional jobs.

In the case of the payroll tax holiday, the measure would, for the first time, protect the Social Security Trust Fund from being harmed by cutting government spending and directing those savings to replenish the trust fund.

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