WASHINGTON--The House this week takes up a measure to extend for two months a Social Security payroll tax break that had been set to expire on Dec. 31. The Senate passed the bill on Saturday, with Sen. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) one of ten senators to vote against the break that everyone who receives a paycheck gets.

In 2011, for someone who earns $106,000 a year the tax cut was about $2,000; for a $50,000 earner, the break is about $1,000.

Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) voted for the temporary extension, which passed on an 89-10 roll call on Friday. Kirk backed the tax cut in 2010--proposed as a one-year deal. .

Taxpayers got to keep more of their own money in 2011 because the contribution to Social Security was trimmed. Kirk has a problem with how the Social Security tax break will be paid for.

"It is the right policy because one of the lessons of Europe is that you can't run retirement security programs without contributions to retirement security," Kirk told C-SPAN. "Seniors have enough to worry about as it is without the Congress voting on a bipartisan basis to undermine contributions to Social Security."

NAYs ---10
Corker (R-TN)
DeMint (R-SC)
Johnson (R-WI)
Kirk (R-IL)
Leahy (D-VT)
Manchin (D-WV)
Moran (R-KS)
Sanders (I-VT)
Sessions (R-AL)
Shelby (R-AL)