Pat Dollard

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CBS News:

Both the House and the Senate on Friday passed a two-month extension of the payroll tax, bringing an end to the political brinkmanship that delayed progress on the popular bill for weeks.

The bill passed is similar to the bill the Senate passed last week — it will prevent a 2 percent increase in the payroll tax, extend unemployment benefits and prevent doctors from taking a cut in Medicare payments. House Republicans initially opposed the two-month extension — arguing in favor of a full, one-year extension — but after taking a political beating for holding up the bill, they struck a deal on Thursday to accept the Senate bill with added language to benefit small businesses.

“I hope this Congress has had a very good learning experience,” Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said after today’s vote. “Everything we do around here does not have to wind up in a fight.”

Now that Congress has passed the short-term extension, President Obama will sign it into law, and the president will leave Washington to join his family in Hawaii for Christmas. Congress will then have two months to work out their differences over a longer-term payroll tax cut extension — namely, differences over how to pay for it.

“We can pay for it in many different ways,” Reid said. “We have to be somewhat inventive.”

Reid announced the four Democratic senators he is appointing to a conference to negotiate the terms of the longer-term bill with the House: Sens. Ben Cardin on Maryland, Bob Casey of Pennsylvania, Max Baucus of Montana and Jack Reed of Rhode Island.

Friday’s votes — which could have been derailed by any one member objecting to the unanimous vote — were conducted in nearly-empty congressional chambers.