WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Republicans on Tuesday blocked President Barack Obama’s nominee for a judgeship on a key appeals court, saying her views on gun rights and national security disqualify her.

Democrats fell six votes short of the 60 needed to overcome a Republican procedural roadblock against Caitlin Halligan, a former chief appellate lawyer for New York state.

Halligan would fill a vacancy on the U.S. Court of Appeals Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit that was left open six years ago when John Roberts became U.S. Supreme Court chief justice.

Considered by senators and lawyers to be the second most important U.S. court, the D.C. Circuit hears regulatory challenges and constitutional disputes. The court currently has eight judges — three of them Democratic appointees.

After the vote, Obama urged senators to change their minds and confirm Halligan and other pending judicial nominees. He said he was “deeply disappointed” by the use of a delaying tactic known as a filibuster by Republicans.

“Today’s vote dramatically lowers the bar used to justify a filibuster, which had required ‘extraordinary circumstances,’” said Obama, who served four years in the Senate.

“The only extraordinary things about Ms. Halligan are her qualifications and her intellect,” he said.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama prodded congressional Republicans on Monday to extend a payroll tax cut, and his fellow Democrats proposed to fund it with spending cuts and a “tiny surtax” on the rich.

Republicans will likely reject the Democratic move, which appears aimed at cranking up pressure on them to compromise and find a way to renew the popular tax break in advance of next year’s congressional and presidential elections.

Speaking at the White House, Obama said the tax cut needs to be acted upon before they expire at the end of this month for the sake of millions of Americans and the weak U.S. economy.

“The majority of economists believe it’s important to extend the payroll tax cut and … would lower their growth estimates for our economy if it doesn’t happen,” Obama said.

Republicans argue that the tax cut, which went into effect last year, failed to stimulate the economy and undermined the Social Security retirement program that it funds.

Senate Republican Whip Jon Kyl said, “There’s some very important reasons not to do this again. It doesn’t produce a good result and can produce some bad results.”

But Kyl noted that he backed the tax break last year because the legislation also extended income tax cuts enacted during the administration of President George W. Bush.

WASHINGTON, Dec 5 (Reuters) – The U.S. Congress is rushing to complete work on several issues affecting Americans’ pocketbooks before lawmakers adjourn for the year.

Topping the list for many is a payroll tax break set to expire on Dec. 31. If it is not renewed, a typical family in the United States would see their taxes increase by about $1,000 next year.

At a time when a struggling economy has helped to push Congress’s approval rating to a record low of less than 10 percent, Democrats and Republicans are struggling to find common ground on how to cover the projected $110 billion annual cost of renewing the tax break.

Some Republicans oppose the extension, saying it eventually could take needed funds from the Social Security retirement program. Democrats disagree.

Here’s a look at key issues facing Congress before it adjourns this month:

JOBLESS BENEFITS

Federal unemployment insurance programs also are set to begin expiring at the end of this month, potentially affecting millions of jobless Americans.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid hopes to get a vote this week on a “compromise” to extend a popular payroll tax cut set to expire at the end of this month, a Democratic aide said on Monday.

According to the aide, who asked not to be identified, the new proposal pares back a Democratic plan rejected last week. It no longer would give employers a reduction in their 6.2 percent payroll tax. But like the previous version, it would cut workers’ tax to 3.1 percent, from the current 4.2 percent.

Also, a new tax on income above $1 million a year would be scaled back from the original 3.25 percent. The exact rate has not yet been determined, the aide said, but it would be in the range of 1.7 percent to 1.9 percent.

Without congressional action, the payroll tax on workers goes back to its normal 6.2 percent on January 1.

The “compromise” pares back some domestic programs to pay for the rest of the projected $110 billion cost of extending the payroll tax cut, the aide said, without providing details.

It also would impose some tighter eligibility standards that Republicans wanted on the food stamp program and unemployment benefits, the Democratic aide said.

Last week, when the Senate defeated the Democratic tax cut proposal, it also killed a Republican plan to cover the cost by extending a federal worker pay freeze and downsizing the federal workforce.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Senate Democrats plan to offer a new proposal on Monday to extend a popular payroll tax cut amid signals that Republican leaders would accept a compromise that covers the cost to the federal Treasury.

Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad, a Democrat, said that the offer would be a “serious attempt to move this ball forward,” and avoid a December 31 expiration of the popular tax cut.

The proposal will be put forward by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Democrat, on Monday, Conrad told the “Fox News Sunday” program. He declined to give details.

Conrad called Reid’s proposal “a compromise,” but a spokesman for Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell said Republicans were not consulted.

President Barack Obama and other Democrats want to expand and continue the payroll tax break for workers and extend it to employers, arguing it would help stimulate the sluggish U.S. economy. They have offered to cover the plan’s cost with a new tax on millionaires.

Republicans instead offered to extend the tax break, which reduces the Social Security tax to 4.2 percent from 6.2 percent, and cover its roughly $110 billion cost largely by continuing a federal workers’ pay freeze through 2015 and gradually reducing the federal workforce by 10 percent.

The competing plans were defeated on Thursday in the Democratic-controlled Senate.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Senate on Thursday defeated competing payroll tax cut extension plans by Democrats and Republicans, clearing the way for negotiations on compromise legislation that could boost the economy next year.

In late-night votes, the Senate, as expected, defeated a Democratic plan that would have extended and expanded the payroll tax cut that is scheduled to expire on December 31.

Republicans particularly objected to a new tax on the wealthy to cover the $110 billion in projected lost revenues from continuing the temporary tax cut.

Following the votes, President Barack Obama said in a statement, “It makes absolutely no sense to raise taxes on the middle class at a time when so many are still trying to get back on their feet.” He urged Congress to come to a deal to extend the payroll tax cuts.

The White House, investment banks and some economists have warned in recent days that U.S. economic growth could suffer in 2012 if the tax cut for workers is allowed to expire.

After the Democratic legislation was defeated, the Senate promptly killed an alternative Republican plan. It too would have extended the tax cut for a year. But it did not embrace the Democrats’ proposal to reduce the worker tax even further and to also cut an employer-paid payroll tax.

Republican ambivalence toward any extension of the payroll tax cut was evident in the Senate as a majority of the party’s 47 senators voted against the Republican plan.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The top Republican in Congress said on Thursday that extending a payroll tax cut for workers would boost the U.S. economy, putting himself at odds with members of his party who are skeptical of its benefits.

Minutes after declaring “I’m not an economist. I don’t know what kind of impact it’s going to have,” Speaker of the House of Representatives John Boehner said renewal of the tax cut would be economically beneficial.

“I don’t think there is any question that the payroll tax relief, in fact, helps the economy, in allowing more Americans … to keep more of their money,” Boehner said when pressed by reporters.

Boehner’s comments, quickly welcomed by the White House, were in sharp contrast to what members of his party were saying just days ago.

Many Republican lawmakers are skeptical that extending the tax cut beyond this year will help job creation and say it will have only a temporary effect on the economy.

The White House, investment banks and some economists have warned in recent days that U.S. economic growth could suffer in 2012 if the cuts are allowed to expire.

Until earlier this week, Republicans had been lukewarm to extending the payroll tax cut, but they have come under political pressure to do so in advance of the 2012 presidential and congressional elections.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – In a political test of the spirit of Christmas, warring Democrats and Republicans in the Senate are getting ready to exchange holiday gifts.

No one predicts that the Senate’s first-ever “Secret Santa” gift exchange, set for mid-December with a $10-per-present limit, will unleash unprecedented bipartisan tidings of comfort and joy.

But many hope it will at least promote some peace and goodwill on Capitol Hill after a year of bitter fighting over taxes and spending, a near-shutdown of the government and the loss of the country’s coveted AAA credit rating.

“At first, I thought it was too gimmicky,” said Senator Mike Enzi, a Republican who has a reputation for big bipartisan deals.” “But then I figured, it won’t hurt. It’s worth a try.”

First-term Democratic Senator Al Franken, a fiery liberal and former television comedian, hatched the idea and enlisted freshman Republican Senator Mike Johanns, a soft-spoken conservative, to help him promote it.

So far, 58 of the Senate’s 100 members have agreed to take part in the gift exchange, which will take place at a party with eggnog and cookies.

In preparation, each participating senator — 37 Democrats and 21 Republicans — reached into a Santa hat and pulled out the name of a colleague who will receive their gift. For the most part, Democrats will get Republicans gifts and vice versa.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. lawmakers abandoned their high-profile effort to rein in the country’s ballooning debt on Monday in a sign that Washington likely will not be able to resolve a dispute over taxes and spending until 2013.

The admission of defeat by Republicans and Democrats on a 12-member congressional “super committee” is likely to cement perceptions among voters and investors that politicians are too divided to tackle trillion-dollar budget deficits and a national debt that now is roughly equal to the U.S. economy.

“Despite our inability to bridge the committee’s significant differences, we end this process united in our belief that the nation’s fiscal crisis must be addressed and that we cannot leave it for the next generation to solve,” Republican Representative Jeb Hensarling and Democratic Senator Patty Murray said in a joint statement.

But lawmakers will be less willing to compromise as they shift their attention to the November 2012 presidential and congressional elections. The finger-pointing began within minutes of the announcement.

President Barack Obama said Republicans had scuttled the talks by refusing to consider tax hikes on the wealthy.

“They simply will not budge from that negotiating position and so far that refusal has been the main stumbling block that has prevented Congress from reaching an agreement to further reduce the deficit,” Obama said at the White House.

Republicans blamed Obama for a lack of leadership and said his Democrats had been unwilling to consider a fundamental overhaul of government-run healthcare programs that could swamp the economy in coming decades as the population ages.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Lawmakers abandoned their high-profile effort to rein in the country’s ballooning debt on Monday in a sign that Washington likely will not be able to resolve a dispute over taxes and spending until 2013.

The admission of defeat by Republicans and Democrats on a 12-member congressional “super committee” is likely to cement perceptions among voters and investors that politicians are too divided to tackle trillion-dollar budget deficits and a national debt that now is roughly equal to the U.S. economy.

“Despite our inability to bridge the committee’s significant differences, we end this process united in our belief that the nation’s fiscal crisis must be addressed and that we cannot leave it for the next generation to solve,” Republican Representative Jeb Hensarling and Democratic Senator Patty Murray said in a joint statement.

But lawmakers will be less willing to compromise as they shift their attention to the November 2012 presidential and congressional elections. The finger-pointing began within minutes of the announcement.

President Barack Obama said Republicans had scuttled the talks by refusing to consider tax hikes on the wealthy.

“They simply will not budge from that negotiating position and so far that refusal has been the main stumbling block that has prevented Congress from reaching an agreement to further reduce the deficit,” Obama said at the White House.

Republicans blamed Obama for a lack of leadership and said his Democrats had been unwilling to consider a fundamental overhaul of government-run healthcare programs that could swamp the economy in coming decades as the population ages.