GOP Links Payroll Tax Cuts to Pipeline Approval

 

Here�s why people really hate Congress: these days, it�s all shenanigans. It�s not �what can I do for you?� so much as �what can I do for my friends?� It�s all back room deals and sneaky tricks.

And now we have another one to add to the mix. Rumor has it � and House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) has apparently confirmed � that the House might approve the payroll tax cut extensions if the bill includes a plan to speed up approval of the Keystone XL pipeline. No, don�t go back and read it a second time. You read it right the first time. The two things really have nothing to do with each other except that taxpayers want one and Congress wants the other.

I�m a tax blogger, not an energy expert, so I�m not going to speculate on whether we need to fast track the Keystone XL. I honestly can�t say whether we need an oil pipeline that would run from Canada to the Gulf Coast. Currently, the President has the power to green light the project and he hasn�t.

For me, the whole thing is an energy policy decision. It�s not a tax issue. The GOP is making it a tax issue by linking it to the payroll tax cut extensions in order to get it approved. I find that kind of maneuvering lazy, offensive and cowardly. I hate it when politicians hijack bills in order to tack on controversial and generally unrelated measures � the credit card reform bill which included language to allow concealed weapons in national parks comes to mind. And yet, Congress keeps doing it.

Here�s an idea: why don�t we talk about tax measures that are perhaps actually related? Like linking spending caps or debt ceiling measures to tax bills? Apparently, that�s just crazy talk.

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