Boehner Optimistic on Payroll Tax Cuts as Partisan Plans Fail

The first attempts to prevent a payroll tax cut from expiring Dec. 31 fell short in the U.S. Senate, even as House Speaker John Boehner expressed confidence that Congress would extend the tax break and unemployment benefits.

“There is enough common ground between where the White House and Democrats are and where Republicans are for us to move this legislation and to do so quickly,” Boehner told reporters yesterday.