The original content of Democracy Now! Headlines appears under the Creative Commons BY-NC-ND 3.0 License (United States). For more, including their other shows and media, visit www.democracynow.org. December 16, 2011 Spending Deal Avoids Shutdown as Obama Urges Payroll Tax Cut ------------------------------------------------------------- On Capitol Hill, lawmakers have reached a deal for a $1 trillion spending measure that will avert a government shutdown. The agreement comes amidst a continuing standoff over President Obama's call to extend the payroll tax holiday for tens of millions of workers. On Thursday, Obama said Congress shouldn't go into recess until the impasse is resolved. President Obama: "Congress should not and cannot go on vacation before they have made sure that working families aren't seeing their taxes go up by $1,000 and those who are out there looking for work don't see their unemployment insurance expire." .