On February 22, 2010, the Senate approved (62-to-30 margin) a motion to proceed with the $15-billion jobs package offered by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., which focuses on the immediate effect of hiring. The Senate passage of Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment (HIRE) Act (H.R. 2847) is an important step in the effort to put Americans back to work. The provisions of the bill include: a payroll tax holiday for certain new hires, an extension of the Build America Bonds program to existing tax credit bonds, an extension of highway authorizations, and a one-year extension of higher expensing thresholds.

On February 23, 2010, the Senate will convene at 10:00 AM. The Senate will then resume consideration of the post-cloture debate on the House Message to the Senate amendment of H. R. 2847 (Jobs for Main Street Act).  The Senate will recess from 12:30 – 2:15 for party caucuses. A final vote on the measure is expected within the next two days.

Following the vote Reid stated, by the end of February he would move to the remainder of the jobs bill introduced by Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., and ranking member Charles E. Grassley, R-Iowa, that includes a package of tax extenders and other tax-related proposals to spur hiring and help stabilize the economy.

President Obama called the Senate vote "an important step forward" in job creation. The bill includes several of President Obama’s top priorities for job creation, including tax incentives for hiring and small business investment.

Angela Lockman