At a press conference following today’s House vote on Senate Democrats’ short-term payroll tax cut bill, House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) reiterated that a two-month extension is unworkable, and will only add to the uncertainty hampering small business job creators.  Speaker Boehner also announced that eight House negotiators have been named to a conference committee on the payroll tax cut extension, and urged President Obama to call on Senate Democrats to appoint their negotiators to hammer out a long-term payroll tax cut agreement as quickly as possible.  Following is text of Speaker Boehner’s remarks: 

BOEHNER: “TWO-MONTH [PAYROLL] EXTENSION WILL CREATE MORE UNCERTAINTY FOR JOB CREATORS IN OUR COUNTRY WHEN MILLIONS OF AMERICANS ARE OUT OF WORK”:

“The President and leaders of both Houses of Congress have called for a year-long extension of the payroll tax credit.  The House has passed a bill that would do just that.  It would extend and reform unemployment insurance, protect Social Security, and create jobs.  We’re proud of the bill that we passed.  The House passed it with bipartisan support.  Now we also understand the Senate passed a different bill.  We oppose that bill because the two-month [payroll] extension will create more uncertainty for job creators in our country when millions of Americans are out of work.  The payroll processing companies say that the Senate bill is unworkable and so complex that many Americans may not even get the tax credit.”

BOEHNER: “OUR HOUSE GOP NEGOTIATORS ARE HERE AND READY TO… RESOLVE THE DIFFERENCES AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE”:

“So today, we have voted to go to a formal conference to resolve the differences between the two bills.  This is the system that our Founders gave us.  It is as old as our nation, and as clear as the Constitution.  Our House GOP negotiators are here and ready to work with their counterparts in the Senate to resolve the differences as quickly as possible.  Our negotiators are Kevin Brady, David Camp, Renee Ellmers, Nan Hayworth, Tom Price, Tom Reed, Fred Upton, and Greg Walden.”

BOEHNER: “PRESIDENT OBAMA NEEDS TO CALL ON SENATE DEMOCRATS … TO SIT DOWN AND RESOLVE THIS BILL AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE”:

“Now, it’s up to the president to show real leadership.  He said that he won’t leave town for the holidays until this bill is done.  The next step is clear:  I think President Obama needs to call on Senate Democrats to go back into session, move to go to conference, and to sit down and resolve this bill as quickly as possible.  I sent a letter to the president today asking him to do just this.  We’ve done our work for the American people.  Now it’s up to the President and Democrats in the Senate to do their jobs as well.”