Federal Pay Safe, For Now

Federal pay and benefits are safe in the two-month payroll tax cut extension signed by the president just before Christmas. House Republicans passed the bill before the benefits expired at the end of December. The legislation buys time for talks early next year on how to finance a year-long extension. That fight promises to be contentious. For now the stop-gap bill renews the expiring payroll tax cuts for every worker, extends unemployment benefits for millions of Americans and prevents doctors from absorbing cuts in Medicare payments