Democratic Sen. Harkin Lambastes Obama Over Payroll Tax Cut Deal

Republican congressmen who opposed the payroll tax cut extension passed by Congress Friday have received most of the media attention. But some Democrats opposed it, too. Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, is one of them, and he had harsh words for Obama on the Senate floor Thursday, The Hill reports.

Specifically, Harkin is upset about the $100 billion that the payroll tax cut extension will take from the Social Security trust fund.

“I never thought I would have to see the day when a Democratic president of the United States and a Democratic vice president would agree to put Social Security in this kind of jeopardy," he said. "Never did I ever imagine a Democratic president would be the beginning of the unraveling of Social Security.”

Harkin said he believes workers will become addicted to the payroll tax cut, which began in 2009.