Senate clears jobs bill for Obama’s desk
Updated 11:29 a.m. By Ben Pershing
The Senate cleared an $18 billion jobs bill for President Obama’s signature Wednesday, a down payment on what Democrats hope will be a significant election-year investment in boosting the economy.
The measure passed 68-29, with 11 Republicans joining all but one Democrat present — Sen. Ben Nelson (Neb.) — in support. The bill had already passed the Senate once but the House tweaked it, requiring the second Senate vote before it could go to the White House. President Obama has praised the legislation in the past and plans to sign it.
Though relatively small compared to last year’s economic stimulus package, the measure represents the first clear legislative shot in months aimed squarely at persistent unemployment, and a rare bipartistan achievement from a Congress plagued by partisan squabbling. After getting bogged down in the health-care debate, Democrats are eager to pivot to the economy, which polls regularly identify as Americans’ most pressing concern.
“The beauty of this bill: It’s simple, it’s focused on private-sector job growth and it’s paid-for,” said Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), a co-author of the measure. “It’s modest, but … it’s almost a legislative dream.”
The centerpiece of the bill is a new program giving companies a break from paying Social Security taxes for the remainder of 2010 on any new workers they hire who had been unemployed for at least 60 days. Employers would also get a $1,000 tax credit for each of those workers who stays on the payroll for at least one year.
Aside from that program, the measure includes a one-year extension of the law governing federal transportation funding, and would transfer $20 billion into the highway trust fund. The bill also extends a tax break allowing companies to write off equipment purchases, and expands the Build America Bonds program, which helps state and local governments secure financing for infrastructure projects.
Some critics have questioned whether the package approved Wednesday is big enough to make a dent in the nation’s persistent unemployment problem, arguing that the new payroll tax break is unlikely to spur much new hiring that wouldn’t have otherwise occurred.
Separately, many Republicans suggest the bill uses accounting sleight of hand to make the measure appear budget-neutral.
“This isn’t so much a jobs bill as it is a debt bill,” complained Sen. Judd Gregg (R-N.H.).
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