WASHINGTON — Aided by a handful of Republicans, Senate Democratic leaders kept alive a $15 billion job-creation measure Monday and are poised to pass it later this week.
Five Republicans, including new Sen. Scott Brown of Massachusetts, joined 57 Democrats in voting to break a filibuster of the jobs bill after a suspenseful buildup in which members of both parties wondered whether Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., could cobble together enough support to clear the legislative hurdle.
The bipartisan result marked a breakthrough for Democrats, who have been frustrated since President Barack Obama took office by their inability to attract much Republican support for their agenda. The vote also was a vindication for Reid, who is grappling with a tough re-election race in Nevada and faced questions in Washington over whether he mishandled the jobs issue.
“I hope this is the beginning of a new day in the Senate,” Reid said.
Reid lost the public support of several Republicans after discarding an $85 billion jobs package negotiated by Sens. Max Baucus, D-Mont., and Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, in favor of a narrower bill favored by liberals. GOP leaders complained that Reid had spurned a bipartisan deal that had been negotiated in good faith.
Republicans Christopher Bond of Missouri, Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe of Maine and George Voino vich of Ohio joined Brown in breaking ranks to back the bill. Sen. Ben Nelson of Nebraska was the only Democrat to vote against the measure, which advanced, 62-30.
The bill’s centerpiece is a $13 billion program allowing companies to avoid paying Social Security taxes for the remainder of 2010 on new hires who have been unemployed for at least 60 days. Employers would also receive a $1,000 tax credit for each new worker who stays on the job for at least a year. Democrats tout the plan as a simple way to create tens of thousands of new jobs, though some experts dismiss it as too narrow to make a significant dent in the nation’s unemployment rate.
The jobs bill also includes a one-year reauthorization of the Highway Trust Fund; a provision allowing companies to write off equipment purchases as business expenses; and an expansion of the Build America Bonds program, which helps state and local governments finance infrastructure projects.
Brown, who pulled off a stunning political feat last month by capturing the seat of the late Democratic Sen. Edward Kennedy and gave Republicans the 41 votes to block most Democratic initiatives, announced his intention to support the measure minutes before Monday’s vote. He said he came to Washington “to be an independent voice, to put politics aside. . . . This Senate jobs bill is not perfect. I wish the tax cuts were deeper and broader, but I will vote for it because it contains measures that will help put people back to work.”
The Social Security tax break, co-sponsored by Sens. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, is smaller and substantially different from a new-job tax credit plan advanced by Obama. But the president still praised the Senate measure Monday, saying: “The American people want to see Washington put aside partisan differences and make progress on jobs, and today, the Senate took one important step forward in doing that.”
The Baucus-Grassley bill contained everything included in the bill cleared Monday, plus extensions of unemployment insurance and COBRA health benefits as well as a $31 billion package of extensions of expiring tax breaks eagerly sought by Senate Republicans. Those extensions gave pause to Reid and others in the Democratic caucus, who worried that the bill would be portrayed as a giveaway to lobbyists.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., complained that Republicans were not allowed to offer amendments to Monday’s jobs bill, even though they have proposals.
“Those ideas should be considered,” he said.
Highlights of the legislation
Tax incentives for hiring: Exempts employers from paying the 6.2 percent Social Security payroll tax this year on newly hired workers who have been unemployed for 60 days or more. Provides additional $1,000 tax credit for workers retained for at least a year. Cost: $13 billion.
Highway programs: Reauthorizes the highway trust fund through the end of this year to use gasoline taxes to help state and local governments pay for highway and transit projects. Deposits an additional $20 billion into the trust fund.
Equipment write-offs: Permits businesses to write off equipment as a business expense rather than depreciating them over time. Cost: $35 million.
Build America Bonds: Expands the Build America Bonds program to subsidize the interest costs of bonds to include certain school and energy projects. Cost: $2.3 billion. The Associated Press
