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Congress Passes Payroll Tax Cut Extension; Interview With Kansas Congressman Tim Huelskamp; Bombings kill 32 in Syria; Dow Up 90 Points; Obama Prepares To Speak On Payroll Tax Cuts
Aired December 23, 2011 - 12:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Hello to you all. We are at the top of the hour. I'm T.J. Holmes.
And it appears it's a done deal. After a Republican revolt, then a Republican retreat, the House today approved a two-month extension of the payroll tax cut.
We will hear from the president on this agreement soon. We are expecting to hear from him in 15 minutes, 12:15 Eastern Time. We'll take you to those comments when they do start happening.
This legislation, you've been hearing them fight about exactly what's in it. Well, it keeps payroll taxes at the current rate of 4.2 percent. That means your taxes will not go up starting January 1st. It also extends emergency unemployment benefits. It also includes the so-called "doc fix" that delays cuts in Medicare payments to doctors.
We have a squad today covering this one for you. We've got Wolf Blitzer in Washington, also our Candy Crowley. We've got Kate Bolduan up on the Hill for us, and also Jessica Yellin at her perch over at the White House.
Wolf, let me start with you.
Who's taking the hit here? We've been talking winners and losers. Can they be confined to Republicans, House Republicans, or maybe just John Boehner taking a big hit?
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Well, the big hit for John Boehner, because he's the leader of the House Republicans, and he himself acknowledges this was not their finest political hour. The big winner of course is the 160 million Americans who are going to, at least for the next two months, and presumably for the rest of next year, are going to continue to have this payroll tax cut in effect. It's going to save the average family at least $1,000 for the year, maybe $1,500 a year if they make $75,000 a year.
The other big winners are all of those unemployed individuals who will continue to get their benefits, nearly three million people continue to get their benefits as of January 1st. And a lot of the physicians, doctors out there who help Medicare patients, they were going to have to take about a 25 percent pay cut if this deal would not have been struck. They'll continue to get their current fees, which is good for Medicare recipients, because you don't want doctors moving out of this entire Medicare system.
So the big winner is the American public. Politically, the big loser right now, House Republicans, the Speaker. But you know what? They'll get over it. People will move on.
Right now the fight has to continue in the next two months to make sure that all of these provisions remain in effect for the rest of the year, and that's why they've established this conference committee, House-Senate conference committee, to work out all the details.
What we will see from the president though, he won't say and he won't be gloating or anything like that. A little bit of a victory lap though before he heads off to meet up with his family in Hawaii for the Christmas-New Year's vacation.
HOLMES: And Wolf, he didn't have to try that hard, some would tell you, in this. And people keep referring to it as Republicans gave him a gift for Christmas. He really didn't have to do a lot of political posturing or anything here. He let them do their thing and he got the benefit.
BLITZER: Yes. Just ask the editorial writers at "The Wall Street Journal" or some conservative critics out there, including some conservatives in the Senate. This was a gift that the president received from the House Republicans, and I think a lot of the House Republicans acknowledge this right now.
So they have their work cut out for them in the weeks and months ahead, but it was a political gift. I don't think there's any doubt about that. And in the end, the Republican leadership in the House of Representatives had to blink, accept the compromise that was passed 89-10 in the Senate, not just with John McCain and Mitch McConnell, but even Tea Party favorites like Marco Rubio of Florida. They all voted for it. And in the end, the House had to vote for it as well.
They got all of it done this morning, by the way, within a matter of minutes, which only shows you, T.J., that where there's a will, there's a way, despite all those procedural roadblocks. If they want to do something quickly in the Senate and the House, you know what? They can do it.
HOLMES: A fight for months, and in 10 minutes this thing was wrapped up today. Wolf, thank you.
I want to head over to Jessica Yellin, who is at the White House, again, expecting to hear from the president in just over 10 minutes or so.
And Jessica, not necessarily expecting him to gloat, necessarily, but still, the president's not just going to say Merry Christmas, peace on Earth, goodwill towards men.
JESSICA YELLIN, CNN CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: No, I think Wolf's phrase was right, that it is a bit of a victory lap we'll see from the president. And he'll call it probably a victory for the American people. If not exactly in those words, that's how the White House will try to characterize it.
And we're expecting the president will say either that he just has or he will sign a payroll tax cut that will make sure that the American people's taxes don't go up at the beginning of the year and a bill that will fund for the government for 2012. And then head off on to Hawaii, where his wife and kids have been waiting for him, just in time to celebrate Christmas.
And we've been talking about -- you just heard Wolf talk about it, T.J., and we talked about it all day yesterday, about how this was both a real political gift for the president and right on the policy for the White House heading into an election year. But I would also highlight that come the new year, the fight will be back on, because we have already seen the Republicans, especially in the Senate, signal that they will bring the fight to the president over an element of this bill which includes a fight over that Keystone pipeline which is in here forcing the president to make a decision on this controversial issue about a pipeline that would bring natural -- that would bring some gas into the U.S., and it's something that environmentalists and labor unions are on either side of.
And they're also going to fight the president on his economic policy. And they still have to extend the payroll tax cut. And what is going to be on the table as they try to extend that? So there will be new fights to be had in the new year -- T.J.
HOLMES: Looking forward to it.
Jessica Yellin, there at the White House.
Expecting to hear from the president, again, folks, in about 10 minutes. Stepping in to make those comments she's speaking of.
Let me head to Kate Bolduan who is on Capitol hill for us.
And Kate, we have been talking about it took months and months of back and forth, political wrangling and fighting, but then in 10 minutes they wrapped this thing up, for the most part. So what happened to get everybody on the same page? Were there concessions that had to be made necessarily, or essentially just caving to a political reality?
KATE BOLDUAN, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, I think that the biggest factor in all of this was the pressure. And I know that all of us have been talking about it.
The pressure was mounting and mounting. It really just seemed to be the kind of straw that broke the camel's back, really, in terms of House Republicans giving in.
I mean, House Speaker John Boehner yesterday, he said that they fought a good fight. They still don't like the two-month extension, but he acknowledged that the opposition to this two-month extension and kind of how they maybe painted themselves in a corner here was probably not the smartest thing politically.
Why, do you ask, is that not smart politically? Because there was real concern that it threatened -- that they threatened then by not allowing this extension to go through, by not agreeing to a deal to compromise, they would be painted as allowing a tax increase to happen going into the new year, going into an election year, and that is not a narrative, as we like to say, that any Republican would like to have kind of on their House leadership.
So it was really the pressure coming from all corners, especially kind of a real significant moment yesterday was when the top Republican in the Senate, Mitch McConnell, he came out. While calling it a compromise that both sides will have to give a little here, he basically came out and broke with House Speaker John Boehner and said it's time to give in, cut your losses and let's get through this. And that's really kind of where things stood.
I mean, we are seeing today this wrapped up very quickly. That's kind of the way things typically happen around here. The battle is caustic and contentious, and then when they finally come to an agreement, it's kind of like you wash your hands of it and you walk away, and it's done in a few short minutes.
But this will -- as Jessica noted, this will continue well into the new year. This extension only goes through February, and we're already seeing some statements from House leadership members like Kevin McCarthy coming out after this House vote accusing Senate Democrats of playing politics here.
And we're going to here this kind of pick up once again after the new year, and it will be a new battle that we will be watching, and we'll just see how partisan it is and if anyone learned a lesson here as their approval rating continues to be in the tank.
HOLMES: Kate, always oh, so hopeful that someone would have learned a lesson here. Thank you, as I bring Wolf Blitzer back in, who I'm told is going to bring in our Candy Crowley now.
Wolf, as far as the political fallout for next year in the elections, it appears it all depends on what happens at the end of the two-month extension, if they can or can't work something out to extend this for the rest of the year.
BLITZER: They will but certainly work something out to extend it for the rest of the year. Going into a political season, there's little doubt that either side can afford to have, in effect, a tax increase on the 160 million working Americans. Neither side can really afford to allow nearly three million Americans to lose their unemployment benefits, and neither side is going to want to upset these doctors and Medicare recipients going into an election year.
So, just as they managed to finesse it this time, I'm sure over the next two months they'll finesse it. They've already named the House and Senate conferees, the representatives who are going to negotiate.
It will probably take, T.J. -- let me bring Candy Crowley into this conversation.
It will probably take all of two months, I suspect, at the end of February, Candy, we're going to be going through the same little panicky drill before they come up with some sort of deal. But you and I have covered Capitol Hill, we know Congress, and that's the nature of the beast, shall we say.
CANDY CROWLEY, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. And remember that this was clearly a political defeat for Republicans. It clearly is a victory for President Obama, who, from the time this fight started to now, has gone up in the polls.
We have him basically nearing the 50 percent range, and he hasn't been there for a little while. So it's very clear that on the political points, the House lost. And John Boehner said as much yesterday in his speech when he said, listen, we're going to go for this compromise.
Every battle, even if it's over the same thing, has a different dynamic. So, when they come up to this next battle, they won't have to worry about whether small businesses won't be able to deal with the paperwork.
What they're going to fight over is what they've been fighting over for a year and a half, and that is, how are you going to pay for this? And it's going to get back to, do you want to raise taxes on the rich -- which Democrats have pushed for several initiatives over the past year and Republicans have always rejected -- or is there another place in the budget that can be cut?
So this basic battle, the framework of this battle is, how does the government cut costs, and what does it do about taxes? Over the next 12 months, that's what we're going to be talking about. And, of course, the first 11 being the most important months, because those are the ones that lead up to the election.
BLITZER: There's no doubt though, Candy that in an election year, almost always, really getting substantive, major legislation through Congress is probably not going to happen. They'll finesse it. They'll get some stuff around the edges. But in terms of major tax reform or major cuts in spending, that probably is not going to happen next year.
CROWLEY: No, no. I mean, no, not during an election year, because these are contentious issues. This is Social Security, this is Medicare. This has to do with tax reform, which Republicans have been pushing for.
So, yes, they will find some sort of Band-Aid, put things on it, but they still have to pass budgets. They still have to figure out how to keep the government funded when the next fiscal year comes up. So, there is that that's going to happen.
We had the Bush tax cuts that expire at the end of the year. My guess is they'll punt that until after the election. But nonetheless, there are issues that are going to come up. And there's no money to spend.
So the big fights aren't going to be about new programs. They're going to be about taxes and about spending. But you're right, nothing major. I don't think you're going to see huge reform happening next year on these contentious issues.
BLITZER: We'll wait for 2013. We'll see what happens in November, 2012.
Candy, stand by.
Everyone, stand by for a moment.
We are waiting for the president of the United States to walk into the Briefing Room, make a statement. We'll see if he answers reporters' questions. He should answer reporters' questions, because this is the White House Briefing Room where he's making this statement.
A lot of reporters are sitting there. They're going to want to answer questions. Let's hope he sticks around, answers a few questions, before he heads to the back yard, the south lawn, gets on Marine One, flies over to Andrews Air Force Base to pick up Air Force One and meet up with his family in Hawaii for Christmas and New Year's.
Our coverage continues here in the CNN NEWSROOM right after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: A quarter past the hour now. A live picture there from the White House. Expecting the president to step up at any moment, make comments before he heads out on his vacation about this two-month extension.
This deal, Wolf, that was reached finally after much back and forth, much coverage. And finally, there was a political reality from Republicans in the House, in particular Speaker Boehner, that there was just no other option here, this had to happen.
At some point, Wolf, do the American public stop paying attention to the back and forth and the process? It seems like we see this time and time again, where we are taken right up to the brink in Washington.
BLITZER: You know, it underscores -- that's a great point, T.J. It underscores why the American public does not approve of the way Congress does its business.
In our most recent CNN/ORC poll, only 16 percent -- 16 percent -- say they approve of the way Congress does its business. A Gallup poll a CBS poll had it closer to 11 percent or 12 percent, approve of the way Congress does its business.
And one of the reasons is because of the spectacle we've seen over the past week or two, where it passes overwhelmingly, this compromise in the Senate, 89-10. Most of the Republicans on board. Most of the Democrats -- almost all of the Democrats on board. And then they thought they had a deal and everybody was going to move on, have the real fight over the next two months, but of course it collapses in the House.
One thing we should be looking towards in the coming weeks and months, how much of a revolt, T.J., will the Speaker, John Boehner, face from within his own ranks? A lot of the Tea Party supporters, the conservatives, how angry are they going to be at him for blinking, if you will, to the Democrats' demands right now, in effect embarrassing them?
They went all out -- all in this week, railing against this two-month extension, saying how awful it would be, that small businesses would not be able to go forward and do their payrolls and stuff like that. And all of a sudden, they all had to capitulate and go ahead for this unanimous consent decree that went through the House of Representatives within a matter of minutes earlier today. So it's embarrassing for a lot of these folks. And we'll see if Boehner faces a certain revolt from within his own ranks in the coming weeks and months.
HOLMES: And I'm going to go to our Jessica Yellin, who is in that room for us.
And Jessica, I know the president might walk in at any moment.
But our Jessica Yellin at the White House for us.
We're expecting those comments from the president at any moment. We were told at 12:15 Eastern Time. A couple minutes past.
But, Jessica, behind the scenes, they are not going to come out necessarily and say, yes, we're loving this fight and this gives us a political advantage. But behind the scenes, from what you've been hearing and the people you've talked to up there, they didn't mind letting the Republicans do what they did over the past couple of days and weeks.
YELLIN: I'd say that there is a combination. There was a lot of anxiety, in fact, and astonishment that this was happening, to be honest, T.J., because they couldn't believe that this -- the Republicans had gotten themselves into this kind of a bind, because the politics, A, were just simply so good for the president, to be frank about it. And also, it was so unthinkable that anybody could let this payroll tax cut lapse, because American workers would be just outraged if this money was not in their paychecks. And on the other hand, it would also be, by many economists' assessments, so detrimental to the economy, that who in Washington would want to be held responsible for that?
So there was a great deal of anxiety here because the president, ultimately, is held responsible for the economy. So, if this payroll tax cut hadn't been extended, the president would have ultimately taken some blame if the economy were in worst shape next quarter as a result of inaction by Congress.
So, a huge sigh of relief here when this did happen last night. And, yes, some extreme astonishment that the Republican House got themselves into this pickle. And for the president, the politics couldn't have turned out better at the end of the year.
Now the question is, how do they get this done? How do they negotiate with John Boehner in the new year to extend the payroll tax cut for another year given that his hand is that much more -- is that much weakened with his own conference after this debacle at the end of this year?
You know, they have to figure out how to extend this for another year. As Wolf says, it will no doubt happen, but he has to figure out how to get it done, and that will probably be an ugly mess come the new year -- T.J.
HOLMES: Jessica, thank you. We'll let you get in place.
We are waiting for the president at any moment.
And while we do, Wolf, let me bring you back in. And let's pick up on the point Jessica was making there.
How does -- as far as the president now, how do you play this at the beginning of the year? And this is another indication of, once you give people a tax cut, people will have a hard time remembering now, but your taxes were set at 6.2 percent. That was the payroll tax cut. This is still a holiday, an extension of a holiday, if you will, and until the economy turns back around, it's going to tough to convince Americans that now it's time to go back to the rate you were at a year or two years ago.
BLITZER: Right. And the Republicans themselves, by and large, have themselves to blame for this, because they've already always made the point that even a temporary tax cut, if you eliminate that tax cut, that, in effect, is a tax increase, and you don't want any tax hikes, any tax increases.
Let's not forget that the Bush tax cuts of 2001 and 2003 saw that top rate go down from 39.6 percent to 36 percent, 35 percent. That was a temporary cut. It was supposed to be in there for 10 years. But you know what? That's how it passed.
But if you let it go back to the tax rates that existed during the Clinton administration, Republicans see that as a tax increase. And you remember the famous words, "No new taxes." In effect, this would be a new tax.
So, you're absolutely right. Once you pass a tax cut, even if you say it's a tax holiday for a year, even if you say it's just a cut temporarily -- and Candy Crowley knows this better than most -- it's very hard in this day and age, given the hatred for taxes out there, especially among conservatives and Republicans who think the government has more than enough money, they need to cut spending, they don't need to raise taxes.
It's very hard, Candy, to go ahead and let that tax cut lapse.
CROWLEY: Well, and you also have economists saying in this particular moment, you're right, nobody likes tax increases. Ask Walter Mondale, who basically lost an election on a number of things, but because he said, look, I'm going to raise your taxes. It is not a winning platform. But beyond that, in this particular economic time, economists are saying you raise taxes now, it will hurt the economy. So, until the economy gets stronger, they still can have these economists saying it's a bad thing to do. So there are many, many reasons why tax increases, even if they're a returning to normal rate -- it's no longer the normal rate. Once you give a tax cut, people assume that's what their taxes are, so it's very, very hard to do.
BLITZER: And several economists, as you know, Candy, including Mark Zandi at Moody's Analytics, they pointed out that if this payroll tax cut were to lapse right now, or if the unemployment benefits were to lapse, that would have a drag on economic growth next year, and that's the last thing President Obama politically wants to see, any lag in the economic growth. He wants to see things moving in the right direction, because politically that will help him in his re-election chances, as opposed to if there were a decline further, a dramatic decline in the economic situation.
Everyone stand by for a moment. We'll continue our special coverage.
We're waiting for the president. It looks like they're getting ready over there at the White House. Our coverage will continue in the CNN NEWSROOM right after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Twenty-five minutes past the hour now.
The president just a few minutes behind the schedule, what we were expecting at 12:15 Eastern Time. We are still expecting the president at any moment making some comments about that two-month payroll tax cut extension, that deal that was just reached. The president signing that before he heads out of town. He's going to be meeting up with his family in Hawaii for the Christmas holiday season.
So, when the president does step out -- again, expecting that at any moment -- we'll have those comments for you live.
Get you caught up on some other things going on right now.
Dueling demonstrations under way in Egypt. The scene in Tahrir Square you're seeing here.
Protesters there are demanding that the ruling military council transfer power to civilians. And the crowd is outraged over this week's brutal crackdown when more than a dozen protesters were killed and many more wounded.
Elsewhere in Cairo, hundreds of pro-military demonstrators gathered to voice support for the ruling body.
Also, the U.S. is offering a $10 million reward for information leading to the man you're seeing there, alleged al Qaeda financier Yasin al-Suri. Authorities say he moves money and recruits from across the Middle East into Iran and Pakistan to support al Qaeda's senior leadership. He's accused of collecting money for al Qaeda from donors and fund-raisers throughout the Gulf.
Also, a New Zealand city already pretty spooked by a deadly earthquake earlier this year getting another jolt. They were ducking for cover as a series of tremors hit near Christchurch today. It's the same area hit by a powerful quake in February. A hundred and eighty people killed in that disaster, so no doubt, still, people are a little jumpy.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's pretty freaky, actually. We're used to it. We're locals, but --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's quite scary, yes. Just watching the ceiling, making sure nothing's going to come down.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Well, the city's airport was closed. At least two people were injured.
Also, in Denver, starting to dig out of a major snowstorm there. Ten inches of snow in 24 hours, 30 inches in some of the outlying areas.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Is there a car under there?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I didn't recognize a car when we first walked out.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My ice scraper is, like, this big. And so I couldn't even -- I just had to start using my arms to shovel my car out.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: A little later, a look at whether these storms are going to affect your holiday travel plans. No doubt they will affect some folks out there.
Also, Russia's Soyuz spacecraft has docked at the International Space Station. A NASA official says the Soyuz carried a Christmas present for the space station crew. Reinforcements of the three-member from the Soyuz will fill out the six-person capacity on that space station.
Meanwhile, back here on Earth, we're standing by, waiting for any moment the president of the United States to step out and make remarks about that two-month payroll tax cut extension, the deal that was just reached after Republicans and Speaker Boehner had to finally cave to a political reality. But still, the winner here, American people will not be seeing their taxes go up January 1st.
When the president steps out, we'll have that for you. Stay with me.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) HOLMES: We're just past the bottom of the hour, standing by to hear from President Obama, making some remarks about the deal that was reached to continue payroll tax cut that extension a two-month extension that will keep many Americans' taxes from going up at the beginning of the year.
The president is a little behind schedule so we're standing by any moment waiting to hear those comments. We'll have that for you live when he steps out.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REPRESENTATIVE JOHN BOEHNER (R), HOUSE SPEAKER: We have fought the fight, the good fight. But I talk to enough members over the last 24 hours who believe that, listen, we don't like this two-month extension.
We don't like this reporting problem in the Senate bill, and if you can get this fixed, why not -- why not do the right thing for the American people? Even though it is not exactly what we want.
SENATOR HARRY REID (D), MAJORITY LEADER: It seems that everything we've done this last year has been a knock-down drag-out fight. There's no reason to do that.
If there were a message received from this last thing we've been through, I would hope especially -- I repeat, new members of the House will understand that legislation is the art of compromise.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Now the payroll tax cut extension just passed by unanimous consent. That doesn't mean everybody in Washington was happy about it.
Let me bring in Republican Congressman Tim Huelskamp. He is from Kansas and he is on the line with me now. Sir, want to remind you as well as our viewers that when the president steps out, we'll cut to him, but we might not see him for a few more minutes.
I'll start the conversation here with you. If the one-year extension was not an option, would you have preferred taxed go up at the beginning of the year versus a two-month extension?
REPRESENTATIVE TIM HUELSKAMP (R), KANSAS (via telephone): No. But what folks forget, especially Senator Reid and the president, is that the House passed a 12-month extension and that was sitting on the desk of Harry Reid and the Senate decided to go home and punt and head back to vacation for two months.
The uncertainty of a two-month Social Security tax holiday is actually the typical throwing us out of Washington. Everyone said they wanted a 12-month and here we are stuck with 50 days and we'll be back in this brouhaha in just a couple weeks again.
HOLMES: Is that a tough sell, maybe even to some of your constituents, you're back home now, but to tell them you're against a two-month extension.
To a lot of Americans, they hear you're opposed to an extension of this thing at all and you want their taxes to go up. Do you feel you're losing that battle in the public eye?
HUELSKAMP: No, not at all because we passed a 12-month extension and we included other things to help actually create jobs and this Social Security tax holiday has been shown in the last 12 months to not create jobs.
We have 25 million Americans looking for more work and here we are, we can't even pass a one-year extension for Social Security tax holiday. I think most folks are coming up to me saying, let's get back on the ball.
That's the fact we got to rein in this overspending, this debt and create more jobs here in America.
HOLMES: Representative, did you give any thought to going back and going on the House floor and objecting today? That's all it would have taken, one person could have stopped this. Did you think about doing that?
HUELSKAMP: Actually, I did. Problem was by the time we were notified that the unanimous consent agreement would be offered, where I come from in Kansas, I can't get to Washington quick enough on this short notice.
So that was an option, we did think about that, but there's no way to fly in on time to make that happen. Back on the pledge to America, we talked about 72 hours where big things like this would give us an opportunity to reel read the deal, actually read the bill. And in this case they decided to not follow that rule as well.
HOLMES: Now Representative Huelskamp, I want to make sure I heard you correctly. You're telling me the only thing that kept you from objecting and keeping this two-month extension going forward was that you just couldn't get there in time? You would have if you could have?
HUELSKAMP: No, what I'm saying is I could not make it, number one. But number two, when our leadership decided to drop our desire for a one-year extension to give Americans a $1,000 tax cut, versus the two- month variety apparently there were enough folks that wanted to take that fight and follow through.
So as a result we're going to have to come back in January and go through another two-week debate over this in order to try to extend it the rest of the year. But this is the kind of stuff people told me -- Congressman, Washington is broke and the freshman class is supposed to come in there and make some changes.
But after one year watching what's occurred and seeing our conservative principles falling by the wayside numerous times in these debates, we've got a lot of progress to make. Hopefully over the Christmas holidays folks will come to the realization we need to get back to the foundational conservative principles of our party.
HOLMES: Representative Huelskamp, I hope you don't mind, but I'm going to bring in Wolf Blitzer here. He's standing by as well.
Wolf, I know you have a question here. But in some regard, we've seen this back and forth, a lot of acrimony here, but isn't this what compromise is supposed to look like?
BLITZER: That's what compromise is all about. But Congressman, a quick question, do you still have confidence in your speaker, John Boehner?
HUELSKAMP: Well, I'm disappointed in our entire leadership team. We have not cut spending. We didn't force the president to the table when it came time to give him $2 trillion of borrowing authority.
We didn't pass the balanced budget amendment. These are things that nearly all of the Republicans ran on last fall and we have yet to deliver on them and I think I am frustrated but I think more importantly most Americans are frustrated.
The ones that elected a conservative majority in the House, what difference did it make? We've got a long ways to go. This is just the last loss we've had this year. We've had numerous other losses as we've gone along -- Wolf.
BLITZER: So do you think, Congressman, there's a little revolt brewing within the ranks among conservatives, Tea Party supporters, others that maybe it is time for new Republican leadership in the House of Representatives?
HUELSKAMP: I don't see that happening, but I think what will happen will be a lot of discussion amongst our leadership with members of the Republican conference and with the members of the public saying now what exactly does the Republican Party stand for.
And do we stand for lower taxes, and if we do, we pass the 12- month extension. Do we want to create more jobs? How do we do that? We take on regulations. We create environment for job growth and get back to the core fundamental message, but we've got to follow through.
Washington is broken. The freshman class came in and we thought we could change some things, but after one year and 11 months, looking back, not much has changed in Washington compared to where it was a year ago.
BLITZER: Have you decided which of the Republican candidates you like so far?
HUELSKAMP: No, I have not. We have a later primary in Kansas and I think I honestly believe we've got a lot of great candidates in the field and still waiting to see what happens in some of the early primaries.
And as the debates and advertising continues, hopefully they will understand that the future of America is based on strong conservative Republican principles.
Not only I think the pathway to a Republican victory next fall, but more importantly what we need to do to get America back on the right track.
BLITZER: Congressman, good luck to you. Thanks very much for joining us. Merry Christmas, happy New Year. We'll see you back here in Washington.
HUELSKAMP: Absolutely. Merry Christmas. Thank you.
BLITZER: T.J., you can see the disappointment among a lot of these Republicans out there, trees freshman Republicans especially. They came in with a wave of support from the Tea Party Movement and he was rather blunt.
He was very candid this congressman from Kansas making the point that so far, all of the change they wanted to see that they were elected on, very little of it has really come into effect.
HOLMES: Kind of telling to hear him say that there's no real difference between what we accomplish in Congress this Republican Congress versus a Democratic House of Representatives there.
So yes, no doubt he's disappointed. Wolf, thank you. Wolf's not done here. No doubt. We're about 20 minutes to the top of the hour, still waiting for the president.
We're told he could come out at any moment now, but making comments about the deal that was made on that two-month tax cut extension. We'll have those comments for you when the president steps out live. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: It's 41 minutes now. Continue to (inaudible) on that podium there at the White House briefing room where President Obama is expected to step out at any moment.
He's going to be making some comments before he heads off to Hawaii to join his family where they've been for several days now. The president stayed behind, of course, as this fight went on back and forth about this payroll tax cut extension.
It has been extended just two months as I bring Wolf Blitzer back in. Just two months, again, we're wrapping up the year here, Wolf with another nasty fight up on the Hill. You've been up there a lot of years.
Do they take this opportunity sometimes at the end of the year, a new year coming up to start anew as many of us do in this country, a fresh start?
Do we expect to see that at the beginning of the year and any hopes of at least a little while putting some things behind them and maybe compromise coming or we got another fight starting up first of January?
BLITZER: Well, there will be plenty of fights starting the first of January. Although there was a nice moment today, I don't know if you were watching Harry Reid, the Senate Majority Leader when he came out and made his statement earlier today that the Senate would unanimously consent to moving forward.
He did go out of his way to praise the Republican leader in the Senate, Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, saying so much of what the Senate does is based on trust. He trusts Senator McConnell. He worked out an arrangement with him.
It passed the Senate 89-10, compromised two-month extension leading towards potentially a full-year extension of these tax cuts for middle class, working class families all over the country, 160 million Americans.
And he went out of his way to praise Senator McConnell. So that was a nice pre-Christmas gesture on the part of Senator Reid. I wouldn't hold my breath though, T.J., waiting for a whole lot more of that kind of nice gesture as the New Year begins.
It is going to be a brutal political year with a third of the Senate up for re-election. All of the House of Representatives and of course, the presidential election, general election, coming up this year.
This is going to be a tough, tough political season and at times it will get very, very ugly. I have no doubt about that, but that's the nature of politics. We will just cover it and do what we need to do.
HOLMES: All right, Wolf, thank you. I'll squeeze one more break in here as we standby for the president at any moment to step out and make those comments. We will have that for you live when it happens, but stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Quarter of the top of the hour. Standing by for President Obama. Going to be making some comments before he heads out on his Christmas holiday, but making comments about the two-month payroll tax cut extension that the House and Senate have agreed to.
He's signing before he gets out of town. We will have that for you when he steps out.
Meanwhile, some other news I want to tell you about: two suicide car bombs ripping through Syria's capital. They exploded back to back outside heavily guarded intelligence buildings. An opposition leader says the blast killed 32 people. Syria does not allow foreign journalists access to the country.
Our Mohammed Jamjoom, though, is covering the violence from where he is in Egypt, though.
Mohammed, Syria pointing the finger at al Qaeda, but a lot of people saying, hey, wait a minute.
MOHAMMED JAMJOOM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, T.J.
A lot of incredulity and suspicion being expressed because of what Syria maintains were blasts that were caused by al Qaeda. We spoke to opposition figures today and rights activists inside Syria. They said the timing of these blasts is pretty suspicious, because this comes just one day after the arrival of a team of Arab League observers that are there to try to set the stage for another team to come to try to help withdraw the military from the villages and try to stop the violence.
They say this really plays into the narrative that Bashar al- Assad, the president of Syria, has tried to present to the world, that he's cracking down on terrorist elements in that country. The opposition figures that we spoke with say that this is clearly a tactic that was staged by the Assad regime to try to show the international community that there is terrorism in Syria.
They maintain that there is not. And they are worried that Bashar al-Assad, even with these observers in Syria now, that he will continue his crackdown, his brutal crackdown on pro-democracy activists there in that country -- T.J.
HOLMES: All right, more protests? Do the protests, though, continue?
JAMJOOM: Yes. According to rights activists we have spoken with, there are lots of protests going on across Syria today.
We have some amateur video of one in particular. We can't authenticate this, but it purports to show protesters in the town of Idlib. It's interesting because they're clearly trying to send a message to the international community. You can even see an English banner which reads "Civilized world, the Syrian regime's massacres have put your credibility about human rights at stake."
And this really fits the image that the opposition in Syria has been trying to present to the international community for some time now. They don't trust what the Arab League says they're going to do. They think the Arab League is ineffective, that they're just cooperating with the Syrian regime, and that the Syrian regime will use the Arab League's presence as a stall tactic and continue the brutal crackdown that's been going on.
They want international intervention and they want it as soon as possible. And this just goes to show how much incentive they have putting out banners like this in English, clearly a sign they want the attention of the world -- T.J.
HOLMES: All right, Mohammed Jamjoom covering things for us, thank you so much.
(WEATHER UPDATE)
HOLMES: We're getting close to the top of the hour, getting closer to hearing from the president. We're standing by live, comments from President Obama on this tax cut deal.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: A reminder: standing by, any moment, waiting to hear from President Obama waiting making some comments about that payroll tax cut extension that was agreed to by the House and Senate. He of course will be signing that before he heads off for vacation. We will have those comments live when they do happen.
I want to take a moment now to go to Alison Kosik at the New York Stock Exchange.
Holiday cheer, Alison?
ALISON KOSIK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I am seeing some holiday cheer on the Big Board. Take a look. The Dow's up 90 points.
But I really want you to look at the S&P 500. That's what your 401(k) tracks. That's inched back into the plus column for the year. So talk about cheer. There it is. Why are stocks gaining momentum? New home sales. They came in better than expected. It is good news to see housing at least stabilizing just a little bit.
But we also got some numbers on personal spending, some durable goods numbers. They weren't so hot. But you're looking at investors focusing on the positive. Remember, this light volume that we are seeing today, expect that through the end of the year, about another five trading days left in the year -- T.J.
HOLMES: All right, Alison Kosik, thank you for that update.
I will bring back in our Wolf Blitzer as we have been waiting here for a minute now. The president -- expecting those comments around 12:15 Eastern time, but still standing by for the president. But, hey, it's the president. He's on his own schedule sometimes, not ours, right, Wolf.
But the president, it's been interesting to watch him over the past couple of days. It's like he's almost been home alone as he was waiting for the House and Senate to get their ducks in a row, get him something to sign. He went out shopping with the dog on his own and whatnot.
I mean, is that kind of telling of what this process has been like?
BLITZER: Well, he said -- he made the point that he was going to be working. He expected the Senate and the House to be working until they resolved this matter, at stake, a tax cut for 160 million Americans. That's nothing to sneeze at.
So, his wife, two daughters, they headed out to Hawaii days ago. Our own Brianna Keilar, our White House correspondent, she is out there as well. It's a really tough assignment, T.J., that she has out in Honolulu, but somebody has to do it for CNN, so Brianna has got that assignment.
But the president, better late than never. He's heading out later today. He will fly out there. He will be there in plenty of time for Christmas Eve, spend all of next week there. He's coming back right after New Year's. It is going to be a tough period. I hope he gets some rest, because he is going to have to not only do the nation's business, but he's up for reelection. So you will be seeing him out on the campaign trail a lot after the new year.
You have seen him somewhat already, but it is only just beginning for him. So he's got to be president, commander in chief. He's also got to be campaigner in chief. So he better rest up next week and get his batteries recharged for what is going to be a difficult struggle for him.
HOLMES: That is a really good point you make. You never stop being president. You never really get time to take off at all. But Hawaii sounds pretty good about now.
Jessica Yellin over at the White House standing by, waiting for the president here.
A little bit of a delay here, Jessica, but, hey, he's not on our schedule, of course. But what are we expecting to hear from this president? And I guess what do we all kind of need to be listening in for?
YELLIN: Well, T.J., what I will be listening for is -- it will be interesting to hear how much he focuses on what this bill will do for the American people.
We have heard him talk about the $40 in the average American's paycheck -- vs. how much he's going to press Congress to get the full- year extension done in the new year and how he would like to pay for that. So, will this be a look ahead, keeping the pressure on Congress next year to get the job done going forward?
And then there is this question. Will he single out people for praise, Harry Reid and possibly even Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who's been sort of his archenemy this past year politically, who really helped get the ball over the finish line by pressing John Boehner, the speaker of the House, to give in and do this deal in the end? That would sort of be in keeping with this sort of bipartisan theme he has struck during his 2008 campaign.
But in more recent months, we have heard the president talk about a dysfunctional Congress. So, perhaps we could hear a message from him talking about how Congress waited to the last minute to get this done and Congress needs to be more functional in the future.
So those are the kinds of themes it will be interesting to listen for, because whichever themes he hits, I think, sort of set up campaign themes we will hear from him next year. So, all of this is clearly about policy, but there's also a lot of politics at play, given that we're heading into an election year. As for the delay, this is speculation, but he has two things to sign before he goes, presumably. One is this payroll tax extension, and then there is the omnibus which funds the government through the next year. so, it is possible that perhaps he's been waiting for that payroll bill to get over here, for all we know.
Someone did send me an e-mail saying, or maybe he's just been packing for Hawaii.
(LAUGHTER)
YELLIN: That's a joke.
HOLMES: Yes. He's got a couple of things he needs to wrap. He bought some Christmas gifts for the girls and for Michelle, I'm sure.
YELLIN: I'm sure he has people to pack for him.
HOLMES: He's got some wrapping to do. I'm sure he wants to do it himself.
YELLIN: That's true.
HOLMES: Jessica, thank you so much.
And as we have a little fun there as we are waiting on the president here, we're crossing over the top of the hour here, 1:00 Eastern time, waiting for the president.
And, Wolf, this is worth bringing up. The president is heading out to Hawaii. Of course, that's home for him, where he did a lot of his growing up. But, you know, there's always the politics of vacations as well. And the president's had to deal with this throughout his presidency the past couple years, of course, at a time of tough economic times.
And it is important. Yes, we understand the president needs a break, and he goes out and does things with his family, plays a little golf, but the -- the optics of that is always -- are always in play.
BLITZER: And I remember when I was a White House correspondent going out to Hawaii. I had a tough assignment on a few occasions, when then President Bill Clinton went out there for his vacation with the first lady Hilary Clinton, daughter Chelsea. And I remember covering that, and a lot of the photographers would always try to get a shot of them swimming, with their bathing suits on.
It's one of the aspects, when you're president of the United States, first lady, and I'm sure that will happen this time as well. We've already seen the president swimming over the years, but it's just the nature of the best. Yeah, he deserves a few days off, like all of us. He's going to have some time to relax with his family. This is a good time for him to reflect in Hawaii.
It's not just where he grew up, let's not forget, he was born, T.J., in Hawaii. Even though there's a controversy, there was a controversy. At least, maybe some people still believe he wasn't born in Hawaii. But he was born in Hawaii and he's going to go out there - he's got a lot of old friends out there. He deserves some time off. And as we've been saying, he's got a lot going on.
But even as he's on vacation, every president is never completely on vacation. He'll have national security advisers with him. Right now, there's a crisis - there are plenty of international crises underway. North Korea, in the midst of a succession. Arguably one of the most dangerous spots on earth right now, with the death of the so-called "Dear Leader," Kim Jong-il, and the succession of his young, untested son in his late 20s, Kim Jong-un. The tension on the Korean peninsula very, very real right now.
Tension in Iraq. We saw a wave of terror activities going on yesterday. Tension in Syria, Pakistan, Afghanistan. We saw what's going on in Egypt, the violence against women in Egypt that is brutal, right now.
So this is a president, that even though he'll have a little time to relax, he's going to be on top of these situations. He's going to be briefed on a daily basis, so when you're president of the United States you can completely get away from your responsibilities as the Commander in Chief. He appreciates this, every president does, no matter where they go.
