The Senate approved a $17.6 billion jobs creation bill Wednesday, sending it to President Barack Obama, who is expected to sign it into law.
The Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment Act was passed by a vote of 68 to 29. The bill is a much smaller version of a $85 billion bipartisan measure that the Senate Finance Committee drafted in February.
Under the bill, employers will be exempt from Social Security payroll taxes for every worker hired after February 3, 2010 and before January 1, 2011 if they had previously been unemployed for at least 60 days. Businesses that spend money on capital investments will also see an extension of a tax break.
The legislation also provides funding for highway and transit programs through 2010. It further calls for the expansion of using the Build America Bonds program, which was developed to help states and municipalities fund capital construction projects.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., called passage of the legislation "an important step in our continuing commitment to put more Nevadans and more Americans back to work."
"Thousands of Nevadans and millions of Americans are struggling to find work and are worried about being able to support their families," Reid continued. "Today's vote is vital because more than one million jobs will be saved or created by this bill."
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., said the bill is "a targeted approach designed to get Americans back to work right away by creating jobs to rebuild our country's infrastructure and providing tax cuts for businesses to hire new workers."
He added that passing the act is "a critical victory in our job creation agenda and we will continue working to get Americans back to work this year."
Senator Russ Feingold, D-Wis., said that passing the act will "make it a little easier for firms to hire workers."
"Passage of this bill, with bipartisan support, is an important step as we remain focused on creating jobs and strengthening the economy," he added. "But since the new payroll tax break expires at the end of the year, more must be done."
Feingold encouraged including provisions from his own bill in future legislation, since it provides firms "with a tax break for the next two years to help them expand their payroll and put people back to work."
On the other side of the aisle, Senator Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., who supported the bill, said he did so because, "without increasing the federal debt, it permits small businesses to deduct their capital investments from their taxes, which gives them more money to create jobs."
He also said that the bill "provides tax incentives for businesses to hire unemployed workers; and provides needed funds for our highways."
President Obama also commented on the passage of the bill after a meeting with the Taoiseach of Ireland Brian Cowen, telling the Republicans who voted for the bill that he appreciates their willingness to work with Democrats in a bipartisan fashion to get America moving again.
For comments and feedback: editorial@rttnews.com