Congress passes extension of payroll tax cut

Two months after vowing to never give up the fight against President Obama’s payroll tax proposal, House Republicans decided Friday that they could not afford the battle any more. Large bipartisan coalitions in both the House and Senate passed a $143 billion economic package that includes a year-long extension of the payroll tax holiday for 160 million workers, just as Obama had requested more than five months ago, and also extends unemployment benefits for millions of others.