Washington, DC- Rep. Pete Olson (R-Sugar Land) today chastised President Obama and his staff for distorting the facts about spending cuts in the  House Republican bill that would extend the payroll tax cut.  Even the Washington Post disputed their claim.  When the Post fact checked White House  Press Secretary Jay Carney's statements about the Republicans spending cuts, they determined he wasn’t telling the truth.

“What I understand is that in the Republican proposal you're talking about, they didn't spell out where the cuts would come. And I get that they were trying to hide the fact that this would be the result. … The result would be cuts in nondefense discretionary programs, education and clean energy, veterans programs. That's the effect of their proposal.” --White House spokesman Jay Carney, Dec. 9, 2011

Washington Post reaction: "But no matter where you look in the CBO score, you cannot find cuts for education, energy or veterans...In a stunning leap of logic, the White House claims that it knows this reduction in spending will fall on education, clean energy and veterans programs...But, still, the White House has no idea how future Congresses will write the budget, especially 10 years from now."

"The President is entitled to his own opinion, but he is not entitled to his own facts," Rep. Olson said. "The White House should be honest about how we plan to pay for a payroll tax cut that funds Social Security. At a time of historic national debt, deficits and record unemployment, we must face our fiscal reality and get this economy back on its feet.

"House Republicans have worked to develop a plan to extend this tax cut for middle class families that ensures the solvency of Social Security in the process. Our plan will bring in revenue and increase our energy supply by extending the Canadian Keystone XL pipeline to Texas and create thousands of new jobs in the process. The plan reduces unnecessary spending and freezes congressional and federal salaries. At some point Democrats must face the reality that tax hikes on job creators is not the way to create jobs."

The Middle Class Tax Relief & Job Creation Act extends current payroll tax relief, protects Social Security, reforms and extends unemployment insurance, and extends pro-growth tax relief for businesses of all sizes – while also advancing several bipartisan measures that will directly support the creation of private-sector jobs, including the Keystone XL energy pipeline.  Everything in the House bill is offset by spending cuts, rather than through tax increases that would hit small businesses and destroy jobs, as proposed in Senate Democrats’ bill. The bill passed in the House today by a vote of 234 - 193.

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