House demands payroll tax cut conference with Senate. Now what?

The House, along a mostly party-line 229-to-193 vote, agreed to a conference committee with the Senate to work on how to extend the payroll tax rate cut and other laws that expire on Dec. 31.

Good luck with that.

The House Republican leadership refused to let the full body vote on the Senate bill, using procedural methods to instead to put only the question of a conference committee for the dueling bills to the members.

After that vote, the House Democratic leadership reportedly will not appoint conferees.

Even if a full bipartisan slate of Representatives is named to meet with Senators, the Senate has recessed and leaders there vow not to return to D.C. this session.

Will the payroll tax cut, along with Medicare payments for doctors and unemployment benefits, eventually be agreed to by Congress?

Probably. As is painfully obvious, 2012 is an election year.

But when in 2012 the extension will occur is the $64 gazillion question.

You also might find these items of interest:

• Comparing the competing House-Senate payroll tax bills
• Payroll tax cut extension in doubt again
• Payroll tax cut extension, expansion dead, for now;
  Check back around Christmas