Last week the Senate, in rare bipartisan action, passed a compromise bill, 89 to 10, to extend unemployment benefits and the payroll tax cut another two months and continue to pay physicians at the current rate for treating Medicare patients.
Pleased with themselves, the senators went home for the holidays, confident that the House would agree with their decision.
They were confident the bill would pass because House Speaker John Boehner had told Sen. Harry Reid, the majority leader, to work out a compromise with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, which the two proceeded to do.
