Does Congress "Need" Revenue from Payroll Tax?

A generally informative NYT piece on the expiration of the payroll tax cut at the end of the year told readers:

"The original point of the payroll tax holiday was to stimulate consumer spending and aid middle-income households. But now Congress needs the money as it struggles with vast deficits and believes the economy can withstand the expiration."

It is not clear in what way Congress "needs" the revenue nor why it faces any objective need to struggle with "vast" deficits. Nor is there any o...