Late Saturday evening when the U.S. Senate overwhelmingly voted 80-10 to extend the federal payroll tax and unemployment benefits by two months, there was a sigh of relief. Two months was not the ideal outcome anticipated, but it was expected with Senators eager to commence their annual Christmas break and get out of Washington D.C.

The temporary approval meant that for the next two months, at least, taxpayers would not have to pay more on Social Security and Medicare taxes, and the unemployed would still get unemployment benefits. President Barack Obama, commenting after the two-month extension was approved, said it would only be a matter of formality for the measures to be extended further after the two-month period ends in February.

But those, including President Obama and the 80 senators who voted for the temporary measure, took House Republicans, mainly the Tea Party conservatives, for granted.

When the bill was resubmitted to the House for approval, prior to submission to Obama for signature, the House refused the bill, instead pushing for one that would extend the tax cuts for another year. House Speaker John Boehner, who supported the temporary two-month extension when it was announced on Saturday, supposedly under pressure from the Tea Party caucus in the House, announced that the measure was not acceptable to the House.

On Monday, the House passed a resolution (229-193 without a Democratic vote) that it supported a one-year extension of the payroll tax cuts and unemployment benefits, but refused to vote on the Senate bill. Some analysts believe Boehner did not ask for a straight vote on the bill, as he was not confident that he had the full support of the majority of Republicans in the House to defeat the bill.

On Tuesday Boehner sent off a letter to President Obama requesting that he orders the Senate to return from their holiday break for further negotiations between the House-Senate conference committee. The idea of recalling the Senate was earlier rejected by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. President Obama supported this stance.

Making an unscheduled appearance in the White House briefing room on Tuesday he rejected Boehner's request, saying that the House must approve the two-month extension passed. The president said the bipartisan compromise made in the Senate was the only viable way to prevent a tax increase for millions of Americans.

The White House and Senate leaders claim that the two-month compromise was necessary to prevent the current tax break expiring by December 31 and give more time to work out the details of a longer extension, including the implications of the Republicans' proposal to attach the approval of the USA/Canadian oil pipeline to the longer term bill. With the Senate scheduled to adjourn for the holidays on Saturday, the compromise was seen as the better outcome.

Another of Boehner's arguments is that if there is only a two-month compromise, when time comes to extend the bill, another deadlock will present itself. "I just think the American people expect us to do our work, he said speaking on the House floor."

As this new standoff brews between the White House and the Senate, and the White House and House Republicans, five moderate Republican senators, Scott Brown of Massachusetts, Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins of Maine, Richard Lugar of Indiana and Dean Heller of Nevada, requested House Republicans to support the Senate bill.