Senate Passes Watered Down Jobs Bill
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Companies will receive new tax breaks when they hire the unemployed under the jobs-promoting bill passed on Wednesday by the Senate.
The bill marks a much needed victory for President Barack Obama and his administration as the unemployment rate still sits at the unsettling level of 9.7 percent, but critics are seeing the Senate bill as too puny to be considered a win for the White House.
The Senate passed the bill with a 70-28 vote, and will now go back to the House which passed a far more costly measure in December to combat joblessness.
Leaders of the Democratic Party have promised that more proposals for jobs-related bills will be on the way soon. Future jobs stimulus will likely aid small businesses that are having trouble getting loans, aid for state governments, and subsidies for people who make improvements on their homes to make them more energy efficient.
Future measures will likely be more difficult to pass as the country is facing a massive budget deficit.
Wednesday's bill contains two major provisions, first of which includes $15 billion for businesses that hire workers from the 6.2 percent Social Security payroll tax and if the new workers stay on for a full year the employer will receive an additional $1,000.
Second, it will create jobs through extending the highway and mass transit programs by pumping $20 billion into them before the beginning of the spring construction season.
Democratic Senator Charles Schumer of New York said the impact will be seen immediately from the jobs bill since the businesses doing the hiring will not have to apply for the tax breaks when filing a year from now.
"It immediately takes effect," Schumer said. "It goes right to small businesses."
The bill will also allow businesses buying new equipment to extend tax breaks helping to spur spending.
"It's not going to solve everything," Schumer added. "But because we have a jobs agenda, not just a jobs bill, we will keep at it and at it and at it."
On the opposing side stands lawmakers like Senator Judd Gregg of New Hampshire, the top republican on the Senate Budget Committee who believes the bill will have a detrimental impact on the budget deficit.
"I don't think you get people back to work in this nation by loading more and more debt onto the next generation," Gregg said.
The bill marks a much needed victory for President Barack Obama and his administration as the unemployment rate still sits at the unsettling level of 9.7 percent, but critics are seeing the Senate bill as too puny to be considered a win for the White House.
The Senate passed the bill with a 70-28 vote, and will now go back to the House which passed a far more costly measure in December to combat joblessness.
Leaders of the Democratic Party have promised that more proposals for jobs-related bills will be on the way soon. Future jobs stimulus will likely aid small businesses that are having trouble getting loans, aid for state governments, and subsidies for people who make improvements on their homes to make them more energy efficient.
Future measures will likely be more difficult to pass as the country is facing a massive budget deficit.
Wednesday's bill contains two major provisions, first of which includes $15 billion for businesses that hire workers from the 6.2 percent Social Security payroll tax and if the new workers stay on for a full year the employer will receive an additional $1,000.
Second, it will create jobs through extending the highway and mass transit programs by pumping $20 billion into them before the beginning of the spring construction season.
Democratic Senator Charles Schumer of New York said the impact will be seen immediately from the jobs bill since the businesses doing the hiring will not have to apply for the tax breaks when filing a year from now.
"It immediately takes effect," Schumer said. "It goes right to small businesses."
The bill will also allow businesses buying new equipment to extend tax breaks helping to spur spending.
"It's not going to solve everything," Schumer added. "But because we have a jobs agenda, not just a jobs bill, we will keep at it and at it and at it."
On the opposing side stands lawmakers like Senator Judd Gregg of New Hampshire, the top republican on the Senate Budget Committee who believes the bill will have a detrimental impact on the budget deficit.
"I don't think you get people back to work in this nation by loading more and more debt onto the next generation," Gregg said.
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