Senate advances jobs bill

Today the Senate voted 62-30 in favor of advancing a 15 billion dollar bill that would give businesses a tax break for hiring the unemployed. The bill, known as the jobs bill, includes provisions that would exempt employers from Social Security taxes who hire previously unemployed workers, fund highway and transit programs through 2010, give tax breaks to businesses that spend money on capital investments (i.e. equipment purchases), and expand the Build America Bonds program, which helps fund capital construction projects. Five Republicans, including the recently elected Scott Brown (R-Mass.), voted for the provision while one Democrat did not. Liberals and labor organizations do not think that this bill will be enough and are calling for the Senate to do more to create jobs. As Lawrence Mishel, president of the Economic Policy Institute put it, "We need to create 11 million jobs to get back to the level of unemployment we had before the recession began, yet the Senate jobs bill would create no more than a couple hundred thousand jobs." A final vote on the bill should take place in a few days. I'm glad to see that the Senate might be reaching a consensus on an issue dealing with the economy, as there has been so much partisan bickering over the past few months. Even though some don't think this bill will do enough, it is better than nothing and the only way to get anything passed in Congress is to do some compromising, which is just what occurred when Senators agreed to cut down the House's proposed $154 billion bill. We'll see what happens over the next few days and hope that the Senate can get this bill passed. Read more at http://money.cnn.com/2010/02/22/news/economy/jobs_bill_senate/index.htm?hpt=T1.