U.S. House Speaker John Boehner and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid are poised for a collision next week of their bids to extend or expand a payroll tax cut for workers.

House Republicans rallied yesterday behind a plan Boehner is preparing that would pair an extension of the current payroll tax cut with eased restrictions on some industrial emissions and expedited approval of an oil pipeline from Canada. Reid is focused on expanding cuts to the worker payroll tax and enacting a surtax on annual income exceeding $1 million to pay for it.

Both leaders agree on extending the Social Security payroll tax cut in some manner, addressing expanded unemployment benefits that will lapse at the end of the year, preventing cuts to physician reimbursements by Medicare and enacting some spending reductions. Their differences over how to pay for a comprehensive package, along with some of their priorities, present procedural hurdles that are tough to clear, said Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad, a North Dakota Democrat.