With payroll tax deal signed, Obama is off to Hawaii

President Obama thanked Congress for renewing a payroll tax cut and extending unemployment insurance benefits “just in the nick of time for the holidays,” while urging lawmakers to ditch the “drama” when they return from vacation and re-open a debate about keeping these measures in place for a full year.

Obama’s four-minute statement in the White House press briefing room came one day after House Republican leaders ended an impasse that had thrown in jeopardy a payroll tax break that means $1,000 a year to a typical household. House Speaker John Boehner, who was coming under enormous pressure from the White House and fellow Republicans, announced Thursday night that his caucus would drop its opposition to a Senate-passed bill that extends the payroll tax cut and unemployment insurance benefits through February.

The Senate and House acted Friday morning to advance the measure, which Obama signed just before going to speak with reporters.

Obama, who delayed a Hawaiian vacation to focus on the logjam, said the action taken by Congress will provide a “boost” to working families and the broader economy.

Though he prevailed in this latest showdown with congressional Republicans, Obama avoided a celebratory tone. The payroll tax cut was but one component of his $449 billion jobs package, the bulk of which has been voted down by Congress over the last three months.

“I do want to be clear, though – we have a lot more work to do,” the president said. “This continues to be a make or break moment for the middle class in this country and we’re going to have to roll up our sleeves together, Democrats and Republicans, to make sure the economy is growing and to make sure that more jobs are created. We’ve got an economy that is showing some positive signs. We’ve seen many consecutive months of private sector job growth, but it’s not happening as fast as it needs to.”

In navigating the standoff, Obama found allies in everyday Americans, who wrote in to the White House with plaintive stories about the importance of an extra $40 in typical biweekly paychecks. Obama invited some of them to the White House for an event on Thursday. With cameras rolling, Obama read aloud letters from people who said they needed the money to heat their homes and fuel their cars.

Such stories moved the debate, Obama said.

“I really think it takes courage to believe that your voice can make a difference,” the president said. “And I promise you, the American people, your voices made a difference on this debate. Whether you tweeted, or called, or wrote, you reminded people in this town what this debate and what all of our debates should be about. It’s about you.”

“Aloha,” Obama said, before leaving the briefing room and soon after the White House.