Republicans Target Federal Workers in Rebuttal to Surtax
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Republicans in the U.S. Senate want to cover the cost of extending a payroll tax cut by freezing federal workers’ pay through 2015 and reducing the federal civilian workforce by 10 percent, putting them at odds with Democrats over how to pay for the $119.6 billion tax break.
The proposal counters efforts by President Barack Obama and Democrats to expand the payroll tax cut and pay for it by imposing a 3.25 percent surtax on income exceeding $1 million. Senate procedural votes on the competing proposals may occur as soon as today, and lawmakers don’t expect either approach to advance because of differences between the parties.