House of Representatives Republican leaders met Wednesday in a largely-empty Capitol, ready to iron out a compromise on the Social Security payroll tax break.

But Democrats, and Senate Republicans, have not named negotiators, so there were no talks.

"We’re here. We’re ready to go to work. And we’re hoping that Senate Democrats will appoint negotiators, come to the table, and resolve these differences," said House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio.

"I think it’s important to note that the president, bipartisan leaders in the House and bipartisan leaders in the Senate, have all really asked for the same thing over the course of the last several months: let’s extend the payroll tax credit for a year. And all we’re asking for is to get the Senate members over here to work with us to resolve our differences so we can do what everybody wants to do: extend the payroll tax credit for the next year. I’m hoping that they’re ready to work as we are.”

So House Speaker John Boehner has named Republicans to a conference, or negotiating committee, to seek a compromise on the Social Security payroll tax plan. What about the Democrats?

They won't play the Charlie Brown role, says their House of Representatives leader.

"Are you not in some ways to blame for the stalemate by not naming your conferees?" Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., was asked at a Tuesday news conference.

"No," she said. "It is not a question of blame for stalemate. It is a question of there is a bill that has passed the House and Senate that was designed to pass. The Republicans have put forth a path that is designed to fail. This bill that the Republicans passed in the House was not even brought up in the Senate. The Republicans in the Senate objected to it being brought up because they said they knew it would fail. And the bill that is in the House was not brought up by the House Republicans because, the Senate bill, because they knew it would pass.

"He is not Lucy. I'm not Charlie Brown. We are not falling for that football stunt again. Senator Mitch McConnell fell for it, but we are not falling for it. This is not about getting a bill passed. This is about not getting a bill passed."

The Senate passed a bipartisan compromise Saturday; the House, in a largely party-line vote, rejected it.

"Make no mistake," Pelosi said, "the fact is a clear one, if we do not have a payroll tax cut, it is because the Republicans in the House of Representatives have chosen to paint themselves in a different place than the Republicans in the country and the Republicans in the United States Senate. They are clearly isolating themselves.

" And I will not play Charlie Brown to their Lucy. They have pulled this football every single time. We are not going to let them mislead the American people."

 House of Representatives Republicans are ready to negotiate on the Social Security payroll tax break.

After voting to disagree with the Senate approach--a two-month extension--Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, said he'd appoint negotiators to pursue a one-year extension.

“The House voted to extend payroll tax relief, and to extend and reform unemployment insurance, for a full year – as requested by the president. Senate Democrats voted to extend these programs for only two months – a proposal that non-partisan experts say will create substantial confusion and new costs for job creators,” he said.

“There’s no reason for millions of Americans to see their taxes go up or for Washington to make things harder on struggling small businesses. A formal House-Senate conference committee can resolve the differences between our year-long tax cut extension and Democrats’ short-term bill. We can avoid a needless tax hike on middle class families if Senate Democrats will work with us and appoint negotiators to extend the payroll tax cut for another year and help create new jobs.”

The appointees to the committee include: Reps. Kevin Brady (R-TX), Dave Camp (R-MI), Renee Ellmers (R-NC), Nan Hayworth (R-NY), Tom Price (R-GA), Tom Reed (R-NY), and Fred Upton (R-MI).

No announcements yet from Democrats.

Rep. Greg Walden (R-OR)

    The House of Representatives Tuesday voted 229 to 193 to disagree with a Senate-backed Social Security payroll tax cut, a vote that could put the expiring tax cut in serious jeopardy.
     House Republicans want a one-year extension of the 2 percentage point tax cut. Current rate is 4.2 percent; it will go to 6.2 percent Jan. 1 unless an agreement is reached. In addition, Medicare payments to physicians would drop 27.4 percent, and long-term unemployed workers would no longer be able to get up to 99 weeks of benefits.

    The House's action means its leaders are now to appoint negotiators, or conferees, to work out a compromise with the Senate. But Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada, has balked at that idea, noting the Senate Saturday passed its own tax cut plan.
    House Republicans countered that there's still time to craft a deal.
    "Our economy is too weak and the American people have been struggling far too long for Congress not to work out our differences.  America is not on vacation; nor should the Senate be," said House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp, R-Mich.
    "We have two weeks to find a solution and send something to the President for his signature.  That is what House Republicans are proposing to do today."
    The Senate vote was 89 to 10, and senators left Washington that day confident the House would go along. But conservative Republicans rebelled, creating the current stalemate.
    Debate Tuesday was sharply partisan and even bitter at times.
    Republicans "never wanted the tax cut from the beginning," charged House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. "Every difference of opinions is not a difference of principle. Maybe here it is….they alone are standing in the way of a tax cut for the middle class."
    GOP lawmakers shot back that Democrats were engaged in "hypocrisy," as Rep. Jeff Landry, R-La., put it.
    "Two months?" he mockingly asked. "One of the pillars of the president's jobs bill was an extension of the payroll tax for a year." President Barack  Obama proposed a one-year extension in his September package.

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."  

Sen. Scott Brown, R-Mass., is very unhappy that House of Representatives Republicans won't go along with the Senate's two-month payroll tax break extension.

"The House Republicans’ plan to scuttle the deal to help middle-class families is irresponsible and wrong. I appreciate their effort to extend these measures for a full year, but a two-month extension is a good deal when it means we avoid jeopardizing the livelihoods of millions of American families.

"The refusal to compromise now threatens to increase taxes on hard-working Americans and stop unemployment benefits for those out of work. During this time of divided government, both parties need to be reasonable and come to the negotiating table in good faith. We cannot allow rigid partisan ideology and unwillingness to compromise stand in the way of working together for the good of the American people.”

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid Monday made it clear that he's in no mood to compromise on the Social Security payroll tax cut. The Senate passed a two-month extension Sunday; House Republicans are balking.

Here's Reid's statement:

“My House colleagues should be clear on what their vote means today. If Republicans vote down the bipartisan compromise negotiated by Republican and Democratic leaders, and passed by 89 senators including 39 Republicans, their intransigence will mean that in ten days, 160 million middle class Americans will see a tax increase, over two million Americans will begin losing their unemployment benefits, and millions of senior citizens on Medicare could find it harder to receive treatment from physicians.

“Senator McConnell and I negotiated a compromise at Speaker Boehner’s request. I will not re-open negotiations until the House follows through and passes this agreement that was negotiated by Republican leaders, and supported by 90 percent of the Senate. “This is a question of whether the House of Representatives will be able to fulfill the basic legislative function of passing an overwhelmingly bipartisan agreement, in order to protect the economic security of millions of middle-class Americans. Democratic and Republican leaders negotiated a compromise and Speaker Boehner should not walk away from it, putting middle-class families at risk of a thousand-dollar tax hike just because a few angry Tea Partiers raised their voices to the Speaker.

“I have always sought a year-long extension. I have been trying to forge one for weeks, and I am happy to continue negotiating one once we have made sure middle-class families will not wake up to a tax increase on January 1st. So before we re-open negotiations on a year-long extension, the House of Representatives must protect middle-class families by passing the overwhelmingly bipartisan compromise that Republicans negotiated, and was approved by ninety percent of the Senate.”

"Vacation Can Wait. We Can't" says the headline of a statement Monday morning from House Speaker John Boehner's office.

The House of Representatives is expected to vote Monday night on a plan to cut Social Security taxes. But it's expected to reject the two month extension passed by the Senate Saturday. House Republicans want a full year extension.

And, the speaker's office said, they're ready to work through the holidays.

"Senate Democrats' bill – a step backward that would create more uncertainty for job creators already struggling under President Obama's failed economic policies – is not worth celebrating with American families. Families and small business owners asking 'where are the jobs?' deserve better than tax policy in two-month increments," the speaker's office statement said.

"The president has said repeatedly that no one should be going on vacation until this work is done. Republicans agree. The question now is whether President Obama will live up to his words and hold members of his party to theirs so Congress can complete a one-year extension of payroll tax relief."

Congressional Democrats, and the White House, Sunday railed against House of Representatives Republican leaders for threatening to undo the compromise tax plan that passed the Senate Saturday.

The plan would extend several expiring provisions for two months, including a 2 percentage point cut in the employee Social Security tax.

So, said House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., Republicans should stop complaining--and, she said, stop listening to the Tea Party movement, the conservative grassroots movement that is demanding more fiscally responsible government.

"The Republican Tea Party's tax increase will hurt the middle class and hinder the economic recovery. And they know it," Pelosi said. "The bipartisan agreement successfully negotiated by Leader Reid and Leader McConnell and passed by the Senate with 89 bipartisan votes, took us to a place where we could continue the debate on behalf of the middle class, while ensuring that working families will not see their taxes increase on January 1.

“By holding up this bipartisan compromise, Tea Party House Republicans are walking away once again, showing their extremism and clearly demonstrating that they never intended to give the middle class a tax cut."

She called on House Speaker John Boehner to "bring the Senate-passed bipartisan bill to the floor immediately. The only thing standing in the way of a middle class tax cut is Tea Party Republicans in the House with their latest made-up crisis just days before Christmas.”

The Senate Saturday passed a $915 billion federal budget bill by a 67 to 32 vote, assuring the government won't shut down.

The House of Representatives passed the measure Friday. President Barack Obama is expected to sign the bill, which provides funding through Sept. 30.

The bill a wide range of federal programs, and incorporates many of the cuts lawmakers agreed to earlier this year.

The Department of Homeland Security, for instance, will get $39.6 billion from the bill, $2 billion less than last year and $4 billion less than President Barack Obama's request. Among the cuts are Federal Emergency Management Agency grants to first responders.

The bill also bars funds to transfer, release or assist in the transfer or release of Guantanamo Bay detainees "to or within the United States or its territories."

Also cut were a number of labor and health and human services programs.

The Employment Training Administration will get $10.7 billion, $68 million below last year's amount and $118.9 million less than Obama sought. The low income energy assistance program, which helps poor people pay their utility bills, is due for $3.5 billion, $1.2 billion less than last year.

Other programs will see increases, notably defense, up $5.1 billion to $518.1 billion, including a 1.6 percent military pay raise and more money for health programs for troops and their families.