BURLINGTON, Vt. -
Late last week Congress extended unemployment benefits and a payroll tax cut.
Government estimates indicate the move should benefit about 170 million Americans and mean about a 1-thousand dollar boost in their take-home pay.
Vermont's delegation split on the matter, with Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) voting for the bill, and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Congressman Peter Welch (D-Vt.) voting no.
Over the weekend, Sanders said extending the cut to American's Social Security contribution for another year will cost the trust fund 100-billion dollars.
"When there are so many attacks against Social Security -- that concerns me very, very much. So tax relief for the middle-class, absolutely, taking it from the social security trust fund -- I have serious concerns about that," he said.
The measure does not raise any additional revenue to offset the losses in the Social Security trust fund. Supporters of the measure argue the move provides much needed assistance to prevent the economy's slow recovery from sputtering.
