Congress gave final approval to payroll tax cut legislation Friday, also maintaining Medicare reimbursement rates for doctors and long-term unemployment benefits.

Congress gave final approval to payroll tax cut legislation Friday, also maintaining Medicare reimbursement rates for doctors and long-term unemployment benefits.

The Senate passed the payroll tax holiday compromise today, 60-36, extending through the end of the year a tax cut for millions of Americans as well as jobless benefits.

The House of Representatives and the Senate will vote Friday on a bipartisan deal extending the payroll tax cut and unemployment benefits while also avoiding a Medicare fee cut for doctors for the rest of the year.

Capitol Hill negotiators Thursday officially unveiled hard-fought compromise legislation to prevent 160 million workers from getting slapped with a payroll tax hike, but it ran into turbulence in the Senate, where Republicans withheld support and several Democrats attacked it.