Obama Pushes Payroll Tax Cut Amid GOP Split

President Obama wants voters to get involved in the debate over extending the reduced payroll tax, and he's asking them to tell members of Congress to keep the cut in place. "Let your members of Congress know where you stand," Obama said today in his weekly radio and Internet address. "Tell them not to vote to raise taxes on working Americans during the holidays. Tell them to put country before party. Put money back in the pockets of working Americans. Pass these tax cuts."

Democrats want to expand the reduction in addition to extending it. Republican leaders say they're committed to passing an extension, fearing political fallout if payroll taxes rise on Jan. 1 on 160 million wage-earners. The GOP rank-and-file appears divided, however, with many Republican senators voting against an extension supported by their leadership this week. John Boehner is facing dissension in the House, too, notes the Wall Street Journal. "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." (More payroll taxes stories.)