Jobs Bill Bound for Obama’s Desk

An $18 billion jobs bill is on its way to President Obama’s desk after the Senate passed the measure today.  The measure passed with a 68-29 vote. It was the second vote senators cast on the bill, which was tweaked in the House and needed to be re-passed in the Senate.

The jobs bill is aimed at boosting employment through private-sector job growth.  At the center of the bill is a new program that would give companies a break from paying Social Security taxes for the remainder of 2010 on new workers they hire who had been unemployed for at least 60 days. Businesses also would get a $1,000 tax credit for each of those workers who remains on the company’s payroll for at least one year.

In addition, the jobs bill would extend for a year the law governing federal transportation funding and would transfer $20 billion into the highway trust fund. Finally, the bill would also extend a tax break allowing companies to write off equipment purchases, and would expand the Build America Bonds program, which helps state and local governments secure financing for infrastructure projects.

Senate Easily Passes Jobs Bill

The Senate easily approved a $15 billion jobs bill on Wednesday that would give tax breaks to companies for hiring new employees.  The jobs bill passed 70 to 28, with 13 Republicans joining 57 Democrats.

The centerpiece of the Senate jobs bill is a $13 billion program to give companies a break from paying Social Security taxes for the remainder of the year on new employees. If those workers remain on the payroll for at least a year, their employers would also get a $1,000 tax credit. In addition, the Senate bill includes a one-year reauthorization of the highway trust fund, which allows companies to write off equipment purchases, and an expansion of the Build America Bonds program.

The jobs bill now goes to the House.  As of Wednesday night, House leaders had not decided on a strategy for proceeding on the bill.  As posted earlier on this site, the House passed the $154 billion Jobs For Main Street Act in December of last year.

Small Business Lending Plan Hopes to Create Jobs

Today, President Obama rolled out a proposal highlighted in his State of the Union address last week: funneling $30 billion to local banks so they can lend small businesses money they need to grow and create jobs.

“Jobs will be our No. 1 focus in 2010 and we’re going to start where most new jobs do — with small businesses. These are companies that begin in basements and garages when an entrepreneur takes a chance on his dream, or a worker decides it’s time she became her own boss.”

The $30 billion in loan financing would come from money repaid by big banks that got help from the $700 billion TARP (Troubled Asset Relief Program). The fund would be open to banks with assets of $10 billion or less. About 8,000 such small and community banks would be eligible. The idea is to bolster banks’ balance sheets and enable them to make more loans to small businesses, who can use the money to expand, hire or make other investments.

Obama called on Congress to pass the legislation necessary to create the new fund, one of several ideas he has promoted recently to help small businesses. He has called for tax credits for those small businesses that hire new workers or raise wages, and for eliminating all capital gains taxes on small-business investment. He also has proposed tax incentives for all businesses to invest in new plants and equipment

Jobs a BIG Theme in State of the Union

In his first State of the Union address, President Obama said job creation will be his administration’s top priority this year and he vowed to continue pushing for health-care reform legislation despite recent political setbacks.

“Jobs must be our number one focus in 2010,” the president said. His call for a new jobs bill drew bipartisan support from the Members of Congress seated before him in the House chamber. Obama dedicated about two-thirds of his address to the economy and domestic policy issues as he tried to reassure an increasingly skeptical U.S. public that his agenda is the right solution to fix the nation’s economic woes.

What Americans want is the simple security of knowing that tomorrow will be better than today, said the President, who cast himself as a fierce defender of the middle class. Mentioning the word “jobs” 29 times, he asked Congress to join him and make 2010 all about jobs. “People are out of work. They are hurting. They need our help,” he said. “And I want a jobs bill on my desk without delay.”
Obama’s emphasis on work and kitchen-table issues came after one of the worst years for the economy in generations, with unemployment climbing to 10%, and a bitter, year-long fight over health care.