The Senate has a jobs bill--a very small $15 billion in Reid's S. Amdt. 3310. It was able to make it through a cloture vote today with 62 yeas and 30 nays and 8 no-votes (Feb. 22) and thus has a fairly good chance of passage. Republicans Brown, Colins, Voinivich, Snowe and Bond voted yes. Nelson was the only Dem that voted nay. Seven Republicans didn't vote. One Democrat--Lautenberg of New Jersey who is hospitalized--didn't vote.
This is a bare-bones version of the earlier proposals, offered as a substitute to HR 2847, which has garnered the Obama administration's support. In fact, it is a bill that is "filled with Republican Ideas"--so says the Democratic Caucus's Senate website, here. When the Dems were in the minority, the Republicans passed Republican ideas (e.g., tax cuts for corporations; section 179 expensing for equipment that businesses likely would have bought anyway). When the Dems are in the majority, the Dems pass Republican ideas (e.g., tax cuts for corproations; section 179 expensing for equipment that businesses likely would have bought anyway).
The CBO prepared a table showing the estimated effects on revenues and spending for this amendment, available here. It notes that the tax provision include the temporary payroll tax exemption for employers who hire new workers, a business tax credit for firms that retain new workers for one year, another increase in expensing for business assets, and others. The "incentives for hiring and retaining workers" (i.e., the payroll tax relief and business tax credit) will cost about 4.2 billion in 2010, and ethe expensing provision will cost another half billion in 2010. As I've noted before, many of these measures aren't going to create jobs--including the tax incentive for businesses and the tax cut (expensing provision) for business investment. The bill also includes some transportation funding (extending the Highway Trust Fund) that will ultimately mean jobs--but only about .1 billion of direct spending increase would result in 2010, according to the CBO. And it includes more support for "Build America Bonds" to help state and local governments borrow at lower costs to finance more infrastructure projects. Those last two are worthy measures, making it clear that for every good idea the Congress these days ends up having to pass a good bit of the business lobbies' provisions like expensing.
Other measures likely to come forward will include unemployment insurance and extension of health insurance subsidies for laid-off workers (each terribly important to the economy, as well as to the individual workers). Of course, the Senate is foolishly also still talking about an "extenders" bill for those dreadful Bush-era tax cut provisions that just won't die. Let 'em die, Harry.....
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