House Democratic leaders made it clear after meeting with rank-and-file members Monday: They want the Senate bill on the Social Security payroll tax passed.

House Republicans are balking, saying the two-month extension is too short. They want a year. Well, said House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., so do we. But the two parties could not agree how to fund  a year extension, so two months is the compromise.

"The Senate did compromise" she told reporters. The Senate voted 89-10 Saturday to pass the plan.

But, a reporter said, House GOP leaders were not involved in that compromise.

"No," Pelosi said, "but the Speaker has said very clearly all along that (Senate Majority) Leader (Harry) Reid should negotiate with (Senate Republican) Leader (Mitch) McConnell.  This is the compromise.  This is the compromise.  This isn’t a bill that we were advocating.  We want one year.  This is the compromise.  This is just moving the goal post."  

The Senate plans to vote Saturday on a compromise plan to extend the Social Security payroll tax cut, extension of certain jobless benefits and a continuation of Medicare payment rates to physicians.

The voting is planned to begin at 9 a.m.

Also due for a vote is the $915 billion budget to fund the government through Sept. 30.

The payroll tax compromise came after a long day of negotiaton. Here's Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid on the plan:

“Democrats have worked tirelessly to prevent a thousand-dollar tax increase on middle-class families, but my Republican colleagues wouldn’t agree to long-term tax relief unless Democrats agreed to cut Medicare benefits for seniors. Tomorrow, the Senate will take up and pass a two-month extension of the middle class tax cut, along with unemployment insurance and the so-called ‘doc fix.’ For the next two months, Democrats will work to extend the middle-class tax cut through the end of the year. Republicans can either join us, or explain why they want middle-class families’ taxes to go up.”

Still no agreement on how to extend the employee Social Security payroll tax break, which ends Jan. 1.

But people are still optimistic.

Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell told colleagues Friday that he and Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada, "are making significant progress and reaching an agreement on a package that will have bipartisan support, I hope. I think we're going to get to that place. And I share his view that good progress is being made.”

Senate leaders were optimistic Thursday they can resolve their differences over the Social Security payroll tax, government funding and a host of other issues.

Unless an accord is reached by Friday night, parts of the government begin shutting down. And if no agreement is reached on extending the 2011 Social Security payroll tax cut, the rate paid by employees would return to its 2010 level of 6.2 percent. It's now 4.2 percent.

But Senate Majority Harry Reid, D-Nevada, struck a conciliatory tone Thursday.

"We hope that we can come up with something that would get us out of here at a reasonable time in the next few days," he said.

Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., was also upbeat.

"We hope to be able to pass a combination of appropriation bills and we are working hard to resolve the remaining differences on the payroll tax extension and the related issues that are important to both sides," he said.

And, McConnell added: "We're confident and optimistic we'll be able to resolve both on a bipartisan basis."

Senae Democrats Monday unveiled a new plan to keep Social Security payroll taxes low--but it's likely to go nowhere.

The plan would reportedly cut the tax, now 4.2 percent, to 3.1 percent next year on those paying Social Security tax. If nothing is done, the tax reverts to its pre-2011 6.2 percent rate. Employers would continue to pay 6.2 percent, as they have this year.

The proposal is different from one that was effectively killed last week, a plan that would have cut the employer tax in half.

But this plan's prospects are seen as dim, since it would be paid for partly by a surtax on millionaires, which most Republcians oppose.

Here's Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada, explaining the Democrats' proposal:

"Like our previous proposal, this scaled-back version will cut taxes for 160 million American workers, including 1.2 million Nevadans. (The) proposal will allow the average family to keep an extra $1,500 to spend on necessities next year. And like our previous proposal it won’t add a penny to the deficit. It will be fully paid for with a mixture of spending cuts Republicans have already agreed to and a tiny surtax on the top two-tenths of one percent of American taxpayers.

"Every spending reduction in the proposal was agreed to by a bicameral group of Republicans on the Supercommittee, so we know they support these cuts. And, in an effort to make our proposal more palatable to Republicans, we have conceded to significantly cut the surtax on income above $1 million and make it temporary. Democrats know how important extending and expanding the payroll tax cut is to working families. It’s also important to our economy."

Democrats aren't enthusiastic about Republican proposals to pay for the Social Security tax cut. The GOP wants to freeze federal pay, cut federal positions and make it harder for millionaires to get certain federal benefits.

Adam Jentleson, spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, had this response:

“We are glad Republicans have seen the light and taken up Democrats’ call to pass a middle-class tax cut, just a few days after their leadership indicated they would oppose it. However, Democrats’ proposal would put more money in the pockets of middle class families and create more jobs.

"The Republican proposal cannot pass the Senate as it stands, but now that Republicans have reversed their position on this middle-class tax cut, we look forward to working with them to negotiate a consensus solution.”

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., offered more hope Tuesday for compromise on extending the payroll tax cut.

Democrats, who control the Senate chamber, hope to vote later this week on a plan to cut the tax to 3.1 percent for employers and employees in most cases next year. Currently, employees pay 4.2 percent and employers, 6.2 percent. The 2 percentage point cut expires at the end of the year.

Reid wants the extension paid for with a 3.25 surtax on millionaires. That'll probably be put to a vote later this week, and it will probably lose, since most Republicans are opposed.

Then what, Reid was asked Tuesday.

"We are going to continue working until we get the payroll tax extended," he said.

Reactions to the supercommittee failure are pouring in, and they tend to be partisan and angry. The sharply divided reactions are probably best reflected in the views of the two Senate leaders, Democratic Majority Leader Harry Reid and GOP Leader Mitch McConnell.

Here are some of Reid's comments:

“The American people are tired of their elected leaders listening to the extreme voices in their party instead of the voices of reason.  I am disappointed that Republicans never found the courage to ignore Tea Party extremists and millionaire lobbyists like Grover Norquist, and listen instead to the overwhelming majority of Americans – including the vast majority of Republicans – who want a balanced approach to deficit reduction. 

"For the good of our country, Democrats were prepared to strike a grand bargain that would make painful cuts while asking millionaires to pay their fair share, and we put our willingness on paper. But Republicans never came close to meeting us halfway. “Instead, Republicans relentlessly sought to end Medicare as we know it by privatizing the program and putting seniors and future generations at the mercy of insurance companies. In addition, Republicans insisted on expanding President Bush’s tax giveaways to millionaires, an approach that would have made our deficit problems bigger, not smaller, while increasing the gap between the top one percent of taxpayers and everyone else.  Democrats are open to reforming our tax code, but we will not go along with efforts to provide even more giveaways to millionaires at the expense of the middle class."

Here's some of McConnell:

 “For those of us who hoped that this committee could make some of the tough decisions President Obama continues to avoid, the Democrats’ rejection of not one but two good-faith Republican proposals is deeply disappointing. The good news is that even without an agreement, $1.2 trillion will still be cut from the deficit. Now it falls on the President to ensure that the defense cuts he insisted upon do not undermine national security, as Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has warned.

“With this administration's out-of-control federal spending over the past three years, unemployment stuck at 9 percent, and a $15 trillion debt which grows daily, we felt it was necessary to create this extraordinary mechanism to reduce spending and make needed changes. Republicans viewed this committee as a golden opportunity to change the direction of the nation's fiscal trajectory and create a better environment for job growth. This was reflected in the seriousness of our appointees, and it was reflected in two Republican proposals that were designed to attract Democratic support." 

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid was looking for hugs and hand-holding this week. Instead he's getting headlocks.

The 12 member bipartisan supercommittee has until Nov. 23 to come up with at least $1.2 trillion in deficit reduction, or automatic spending cuts will take effect starting in 2013. So far there's been little evidence of progress.

"What I hoped is that because we have an obligation to do something about the debt, I was hoping there would be a lot of hand-holding and hugs and pats on the back and we'd be headed off to Thanksgiving," Reid, D-Nevada, told a news conference.

Instead, "we've seen a few arm locks and...what do you call it when you lock somebody around the neck?" Headlock, he was told.

Reid said he met with House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, to discuss several subjects, but that talks about the committee's work were "non-substantive."

Asked if the committee's deliberations need to be kicked up to the leadership level, Reid said, "there's nothing to look at, at this stage."

What about the GOP plan to cut deficits, unveiled last week? "I don't know what the Republican proposal is," Reid said.

House Speaker John Boehner struck a somewhat hopeful note Thursday, saying he hoped for some consensus among supercommittee members trying to forge a deal to cut $1.2 trillion from future deficits.

The 12 member committee, six membes from each political party, met publicly Wednesday and plans to meet again Tuesday.

Asked if he had been in touch with Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid, Boehner said, "I've had lots of conversations with lots of people trying to ensure that we do, in fact, get an outcome. I'm not surprised...that we're having some difficulty because this isn't easy. It's going to be very, very hard."

He recalled his efforts this summer to get a budget deal with President Barack Obama.

"The conversation all year, my conversations with the president, the conversation with Senate leaders this summer, conversations now have kind of revolved around the same type of structure," he said, "and so I'm not surprised that the structure's still being talked about."

But no predictions.

"We're into the real tough time," he said, "and going to take a lot more work."