— The
off the first item on its job-creation agenda.
The
passed a
nationwide, but because the bill had been modified to ensure passage, it
must now return to the
passed a previous version of the bill last week.
The bill would grant employers an exemption for their
6.2 percent
new employee hired through the rest of the year, as long as that
employee had been out of work for at least 60 days. It would also make
it easier for businesses to write off equipment purchases and would
extend federal highway and mass-transit funding programs.
measures in the coming weeks and months. The
debating a
breaks and benefit extensions with an eye toward voting on that bill
next week.
The bill passed 217-201, on close to a party-line
vote despite opposition from the
whose members said it would do little in the inner cities. Instead,
House Speaker
leaders chased votes from centrist Blue Dog Democrats by adding
provisions that would ensure the bill is paid for by corporate tax
revenue.
“I know that some people have some concerns, on one
side of the aisle or the other about this provision or that provision,”
Pelosi said before the vote, “but the fact is that a million jobs will
be created by this legislation.”
The House passed a more sweeping bill in December,
only to see it declared dead-on-arrival by Senate Majority Leader
Reid
decision caused hard feelings among House Democrats, but Pelosi has
agreed to go along.
Republicans derided the payroll tax exemption as a
gimmick, and economic experts are divided on whether the exemption will
spur hiring. Some believe an uptick in hiring is more likely to be
fueled by an increased demand for goods and services.
—
(c) 2010, Tribune Co.
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information
Services.
