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December 23, 2011 at 05:30 AM
WASHINGTON — The House and Senate today raced to approve a measure that will extend the current payroll tax cut for 2 months and also extend current Medicare physician reimbursement rates for 2 months.
President Obama signed the measure into law today at the White House.
House Republicans agreed to a compromise late Thursday after Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., called for them to approve the 2-month extension.
House Republicans have been backing a version of H.R. 3630 that would extend the payroll tax cut and a package of Medicare, Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program payment provisions for 1 year.
If Obama had not signed the new compromise version, the 650,000 doctors who accept Medicare would have gotten a 27.4% rate cut in January 2012.
The payroll tax cut reduces the Social Security payroll tax rate by 2 percentage points.
