DENVER - U.S. Rep. Diana DeGette (CO-1) today issued the following statement regarding the passage of the short-term two-month payroll tax cut and unemployment benefits extension, previously held up by the House Republican Leadership and its caucus.   

"Today we avoided the immediate uncertainty and crisis for the unemployed still striving every day to find work, and seniors who need to be able to see the physicians they rely upon. Passage of this bill, which President Obama stands ready to sign, means 160 million hard-working Americans and 2.3 million people still struggling to find jobs can rest a little easier this holiday season. When we return, I hope the House and Senate can negotiate a responsible one-year solution and do not get mired down by the same intransigence that has marked this Congress and brought us to the brink of raising taxes on the middle class and pulling the rug out from under families that are still unemployed. 

"However, this week showed once again that my colleagues across the aisle seem intent on creating one politically motivated crisis after another, and placing the financial security of millions of families in jeopardy.  The quick 48-hour reversal on their position made clear this exercise was not about acting in the best interest of the American people.  As we begin a new year, I hope my colleagues recognize our nation deserves leadership in the House of Representatives that is not run by the most extreme wing of their party, does not double-down on the dangerous tactics that have thrown the government into such disarray, and stops putting its political goals above those of the citizens they are elected to represent." 

###