UPDATE: Lewis Says 'Voters Should be Angry at Senate' Over Benefits + Tax

Update 1:49 p.m. Rep. Jerry Lewis, R-Redlands, who represents the San Gorgonio Pass, on Tuesday backed a House of Representatives effort to approve legislation that would extend a payroll tax cut and unemployment benefit extension for another year.

Putting off the decision will continue the kind of partisan bickering that has many Americans so angry toward Congress, according to Lewis Deputy Chief of Staff Jim Specht.

"The two-month temporary extension approved by the Senate is exactly the kind of government meddling that causes business owners to delay hiring because of the uncertainty of what they will face in the months ahead," Lewis said Tuesday.

"It is absolutely unconscionable that the Senate would kick this down the road for such blatantly political reasons, leaving both workers and employers completely in the dark over what the ultimate outcome will be," Lewis said.

The House, in a bipartisan vote, approved a way to pay for the payroll tax cut for an entire year, as well as extending and reforming unemployment and keeping Medicare payments to doctors at sensible levels for two years, Lewis said.

"Voters should be angry at the Senate for making no discernable effort to solve the problem, just putting it off for a couple of months," Lewis said. "They should stay in Washington and finish the job now."

Update 12:09 p.m. Rep. Jerry Lewis, R-Redlands, voted with his party Tuesday in rejecting a plan that would have extended a 2-percent payroll tax cut for two months and bought time for jobless benefits.

Tuesday's House vote, 229-193, will bring the measure back to the Senate, where the bipartisan two-month plan passed Saturday with a 89-10 vote.

If Congress doesn't pass a bill by Dec. 31, payroll taxes will go up for 160 million workers on New Year's Day and almost 2 million people could lose unemployment benefits.

Posted 11:39 a.m. The congressman for the San Gorgonio Pass is standing with fellow Republicans in the fierce debate over extending jobless benefits and reducing payroll taxes through 2012.

Rep. Jerry Lewis, R-Redlands, who represents Cabazon, Banning, Beaumont, Calimesa and Yucaipa, voted with more than 230 House members for H.R. 3630, the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2011.

The legislation passed the House by a simple majority on Dec. 13, with 193 members casting votes against.

"He's supporting a year-long extension," Jim Specht, deputy chief of staff for Lewis, said Tuesday in a phone interview from the Nation's Capital. "He voted on it last week and he's still behind it."

The legislation calls for extending Social Security payroll tax cuts through 2012, and it calls for extending unemployment benefits through 2012 for those having trouble finding work. The bill also calls for averting a 27 percent cut in payment rates for doctors who treat Medicare patients through 2012.

On Dec. 17, the Senate took up the bill and passed it 89-10 - with amendments.

The Senate version calls for providing a two-month extension of the Social Security payroll tax cuts and a two-month extension on unemployment benefits. The Senate version also calls for preventing the 27 percent cut in payment rates for doctors who treat Medicare patients, but only for two months.

The Senate vote was largely bipartisan. Critics claim the original legislation is too costly, and sticks the middle class with the bill.

While Democrats and Republicans agree on long-term jobless benefits through 2012, under the original bill the benefits would get extended to a maximum of 79 weeks, less in some cases, which is below this year's 99-week limit.

In its assessment, the Senate objected to the benefits shortfall.

When the amended version went back to the House on Monday, it was clear there was an impasse.

"Democrats and Republicans agree that the payroll tax cut needs to be extended for a full year to provide the kind of relief that Americans need in this struggling economy," House Speaker John Boehner said Monday in Washington.

"The House last week passed a bill to do just that - but instead of passing the House bill or another bill which extended the payroll credit for a year, the Senate Democratic leaders passed a two-month extension, punting the problem into next year," Boehner said.

If Congress doesn't act on the bill, the Social Security payroll tax would jump back up to its normal 6.2 percent effective Jan. 1. Currently, U.S. workers are getting hit with a reduced 4.2 percent Social Security payroll tax rate.

GOP lawmakers called Monday for formal negotiations with the Senate. Boehner said the process would include a "sit-down" conference that could last over the holidays.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has said he won't open talks until the House approves the two-month measure to ensure Americans get the tax breaks and benefits while lawmakers continue hammering out the details.

Lewis represents the 41st Congressional District, which covers part of Riverside County and most of San Bernardino County.