Bono Mack Supported Tax Cut Deal

Rep. Mary Bono Mack, Murrieta's congresswoman, said she supported a two-month stopgap extension of the payroll tax cut passed by the House on Friday.

Bono Mack, R-Palm Springs, voiced her support for the compromise plan in a news release on Thursday, but stressed she still expects the Senate to pass a full, one-year extension next year.

The two-month extension by the Senate and House came with no objections Friday, just days after House Republican leaders had insisted on an all-or-nothing year-long plan.

If lawmakers had failed to come to agreement by Jan. 1, the average American worker would have faced an $80-per-month hike in Social Security taxes deducted from their paycheck.

A full-year extension of the tax cut was supported by nearly every House and Senate lawmaker, but the embrace came unglued over demands in an original Dec. 13 bill offered by House Republicans.

Senate leaders of both parties offered amendments to the legislation days later in the form of the two-month extension, which they said would buy time for Americans while giving Washington breathing room to iron out a long-term plan.

"I am pleased that this deal will provide 160 million hard-working Americans with the tax relief they deserve, and will prevent a tax increase on employees that, without this agreement, would have gone into effect on January 1," Bono Mack said in a statement. "The Senate will now join the House in appointing conferees in order to reach an agreement in the weeks ahead on a full-year payroll tax extension."

She admitted there was still work to do even after the compromise.

"The Senate needs to join the House and pass a full, one-year extension of the payroll tax relief plan that does not place unnecessary burdens on job creators or stifle economic growth," she said. I am hopeful that they will."

Toni McAllister contributed to this report.