Democrats press Boehner to set vote on tax cut, SGR

Congressional Democrats on Wednesday would not say if the House or Senate has plans to introduce a stand-alone bill to avert a looming 27.4% Medicare physician payment cut if federal lawmakers can't agree on a payroll tax cut bill that includes a two-month freeze on payments to the nation's doctors.

During a call with reporters, Sens. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), Bob Casey (D-Pa.) and Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) repeated a message that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) sent to House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) in a letter (PDF) Wednesday: that the Ohio Republican should reconvene House members and hold an up-or-down vote on the Senate-amended version of a House payroll tax cut bill that the Senate passed with strong support last weekend.

House Republicans continue to press for a yearlong extension of a middle-class payroll tax cut, while Reid has indicated the Senate will seek that longer solution only after the lower chamber approves the Senate's two-month extension. Included in that Senate bill is a two-month freeze on Medicare payments to physicians through Feb. 29.

When asked if either chamber has an alternative plan to address the sustainable growth-rate formula and an expected Jan. 1 reduction, Schumer said only that all three issues in the Senate bill—the middle-class tax cut, unemployment benefits and the SGR—are “extremely important,” and that House members should return and do what eight Republican senators have called on them to do. Earlier, Schumer said Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) is the latest GOP senator to urge House members to pass the Senate bill.

Van Hollen said that earlier Wednesday, he and House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) had sought recognition on the House floor to bring the Senate bill up for a vote, but were denied that opportunity.

“What you have going on here is not a fight between Republicans and Democrats,” Van Hollen said during the call. “You have a fight between the Republican right and the Republican far right.”