“I agree with President Obama that we should extend tax cuts for all American families up to the first $250,000 of income immediately. This will protect middle-class families and allow us to reduce our deficit in a responsible manner. Democrats and Republicans should be able to agree that protecting the middle class is the most important priority, so Republicans should stop holding these middle-class tax cuts hostage to extract more reckless giveaways for millionaires and billionaires.

“I will be discussing the next steps in the Senate with my caucus in the coming days. Republicans have claimed they want to reduce our deficit; in the weeks ahead, they will have a chance to do so by joining Democrats to vote to extend tax cuts for all middle class American families on the first $250,000 of their income.”

“This shows that even in an election year, this divided Congress can still accomplish something to help boost the economy. Republicans may not have preferred to extend this tax cut, but they were powerless to oppose it given its popularity and the power of the President’s bully pulpit. We will be seeking to replicate this dynamic with other jobs measures in the months to come.”

“More than 160 million American workers will keep more of their hard-earned money in their pockets this year thanks to this bipartisan compromise. More than four million unemployed Americans will continue receiving checks that help them pay the rent and buy groceries while they look for a job, and millions of seniors on Medicare will continue to have access to their doctors. I fought to prevent Republicans from making extreme cuts to unemployment insurance in hard-hit states like Nevada that need assistance as our economy continues to recover.

“In the end, both sides compromised for the good of our country, which is exactly how the American people expect their elected leaders to work.

“I commend the members of the conference committee for their diligence and dedication throughout this process. This bipartisan victory will help our fragile economy as it continues to gain steam. More needs to be done, but this is an important step forward. I hope the spirit of compromise shown by Republicans today will continue as we work together to keep our economy growing.”

I am pleased that today the Senate will pass the Aviation Jobs conference report.

This measure is the first long-term reauthorization of the Federal Aviation Administration in almost five years.

The FAA has worked under 23 short-term extensions since 2007. In fact, the FAA shut down for two weeks last year.

The four-year compromise we’ll pass this evening didn’t give everyone everything they wanted. But it will finally give the FAA the stability it needs to properly maintain a world-class air travel system.

The Aviation Jobs Bill will also create thousands of jobs, protect airline workers and improve safety for travelers. This legislation will create and protect more than 300,000 badly needed jobs.

And it will give the FAA the ability to finally upgrade this country’s air-traffic control system.

Today America relies on World War II-era technology to track aircraft and guide them in for safe landings. An upgrade to modern, satellite technology is long overdue.

The Aviation Jobs Bill will finally make that critical investment possible. It will invest more than $24 billion in airports and runways across the nation, and on modern air traffic control equipment.

I am glad that Democrats and Republicans were finally able to reach this compromise.

I wish the spirit of compromise would also extend to ongoing conference committee negotiations on a year-long payroll tax cut.

I was dismayed to read this morning that rank-and-file Republicans in both chambers are on the fence over whether we should extend this break for working families at all.

More than 160 million American workers will benefit, with the average family saving $1,000 this year.

But Republicans are questioning whether Americans really need that extra cash. And they are once again playing politics and putting our economy at risk as time to reach a compromise runs out.

Democrats have offered to meet them halfway, but Republicans won’t take yes for an answer.

In exchange for extending this middle-class tax break, Republicans are insisting we pass unrelated, ideological legislation that will make our water less safe to drink.

And they’re refusing to close tax loopholes, such as giveaways to oil companies making record profits. Instead they insist on more handouts to millionaires and billionaires before they’ll do anything to benefit the middle class.

The American people have spoken, and they’ve spoken clearly: working families need this $1,000 to put food on the table and gas in the car.

And they won’t tolerate Republicans holding their money hostage to extort political payback, as they did before.

I thought Republicans got the message in December, when they took a beating for opposing this tax cut. I hope they won’t pick this losing fight a second time.

But if they do chose to fight Democrats as we try to put money back in the pockets of 160 million working Americans, the outcome will eventually be the same.

Democrats will not give in when it comes to protecting middle-class families.

That’s why we will prepare a fallback plan in case Republicans refuse to cooperate.

Our legislation will prevent a tax hike on middle-class families, extend unemployment benefits, protect seniors on Medicare from losing their doctors and extend expire tax provisions.

And it will be free of unrelated, ideological legislation designed to please the radical right. Stopping a $1,000 tax increase on virtually every American family is too important to be bogged down with sweeteners for the Tea Party.

Senate Democrats will be prepared to act with or without Republican cooperation.

Republicans must make a choice. They can force a $1,000 tax increase on American families to strengthen the Tea Party. Or they can compromise to strengthen the middle class. The choice is theirs.

Boehner: “There’s no disagreement here.  There’s no disagreement at all.  About the fact that everyone wants to extend this for the next year.”  [Boehner Floor Speech, 12/20/11]

…Except They Didn’t:

Boehner: Payroll Tax Cut Is A “Little Short-Term Gimmick.”  “House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, called proposals to extend or expand the payroll tax cut ‘another little short-term gimmick.’”  [AP, 6/23/11]

Cantor Spokesman: “Better Ways to Grow Economy” Than Payroll Tax Cut.   Cantor spokesman said: “If the goal is job creation, Leader Cantor has long believed that there are better ways to grow the economy and create jobs than temporary payroll tax relief.”  [New York Times, 8/25/11]