Senators from both sides of the aisle are attempting to preempt a controversial requirement that the government withhold 3 percent of its total payments to most contractors for tax purposes.
Last week, Sens. Scott Brown, R-Mass.; Olympia Snowe, R-Maine; and Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., unveiled a bill to repeal a mandate that federal, state and local governments with expenditures of more than $100 million withhold 3 percent of payments for products and services worth more than $10,000, including nonconfidential or classified contracts, grants to for-profit companies, and farm and Medicare payments. The requirement is scheduled to take effect on Jan. 1, 2012.
Sens. David Vitter, R-La.; Richard Burr, R-N.C.; James Inhofe, R-Okla.; Johnny Isakson, R-Ga.; and Roger Wicker, R-Miss., have introduced similar legislation.