Congressional Republicans came around to local representative Chris Gibson's way of thinking and extended the payroll tax cut and unemployment benefits. Previously, all House Republicans except the Kinderhook Republican and six others, voted against a similar proposal. Gibson, still, is unsatisfied with the measure:

“As the President and leaders of both parties in the House and Senate have previously stated, we need an agreement to extend the payroll tax [cut] for at least a year. In the House, I voted for a comprehensive bill that did just that and reformed and extended unemployment insurance while fixing the reimbursement rate for Medicare providers.... I was disappointed that the Senate chose a 60-day measure instead, but I believe it is the right course of action to enact this stop-gap measure to ensure hardworking American families do not see a tax increase on January 1.”