U.S. Congressman Fred Upton

Contact: Meghan Kolassa (202) 225-3761

Washington, DC, Dec 13, 2011 - Congressman Fred Upton (R-St. Joseph) praised this evening’s House passage of the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act (H.R. 3630).  Among other things, this legislation extends payroll tax cuts and unemployment benefits while preventing scheduled cuts to Medicare payments for physicians. H.R. 3630 also seeks to spur job creation by advancing wireless broadband service and investment, protecting employers from the costs of unattainable federal rules and regulations, and requiring approval of the Keystone XL energy pipeline project – construction of which will directly employ some 20,000 workers and create 100,000 spin-off jobs.  H.R. 3630 passed the House by a bipartisan vote of 234 to 193 and now heads to the Senate for further action.

“This bill goes a long way to provide real, meaningful relief for struggling Michigan families and small businesses,” said Upton.  “This package extends payroll tax cuts for working families, makes commonsense reforms to extend unemployment benefits, and ensures continued access for Medicare patients by protecting local doctors from reimbursement cuts.  To spur private-sector job creation, this package also calls for the approval of the long-delayed Keystone pipeline – a construction project that promises to create tens of thousands of good-paying jobs here in the United States while drastically reducing our dependence on non-North American oil.  Finally, it provides much needed regulatory relief for Michigan job creators.  And what’s more, every bit of it is paid for – not a dime will be added to our nation’s debt.”