Congress Gives Final Approval to Jobs Bill
Companies that hire unemployed workers will get a temporary payroll tax holiday under a bill that easily won final congressional approval Wednesday.
The bipartisan 68-29 vote in the Senate sends the legislation to the White House, where President Barack Obama has promised to sign it into law.
It will be the first of several election-year jobs bills promised by Democrats to be enacted into law, though there's plenty of skepticism that the measure will do much to actually create jobs. Optimistic estimates predict the tax break could generate perhaps 250,000 jobs through the end of the year, but that would be just a tiny fraction of the 8.4 million jobs lost since the start of the recession.
The measure is part of a campaign by Democrats to show that they are addressing the nation's unemployment problem, but that message was overshadowed by Congress' feverish final push to pass health care overhaul legislation by this weekend.
The bill which passed Wednesday contains about $18 billion in tax breaks and a $20 billion infusion of cash into highway and transit programs. Among other things, it exempts businesses that hire the unemployed from paying the 6.2 percent Social Security payroll tax through December and gives employers an additional $1,000 credit if new workers stay on the job a full year. Taxpayers will have to reimburse Social Security for the lost revenue.
"This is just the first, certainly not the last, piece of legislation that we will put forward in relation to jobs," said sponsor Charles Schumer, D-N.Y. "If we don't create jobs, the economy will not move forward."
It also extends highway and mass transit programs through the end of the year and pump in $20 billion in time for the spring construction season. That money would make up for lower-than-expected gasoline tax revenues.
The measure is modest compared with last year's $862 billion economic stimulus bill, and the bulk of the hiring tax breaks would probably go to companies that were likely to hire new workers anyway.
Much of the bill is financed over the coming decade by cracking down on offshore tax havens, though it would add $13 billion to the debt in the coming three years.
"When are we going to stop spending money around here as if there's no tomorrow?" said Sen. Judd Gregg, R-N.H. "Because pretty soon there's going to be no tomorrow for our children as we add this debt to their backs."
In addition to the hiring tax incentives and highway funding, the bill extends a tax break for small businesses buying new equipment and modestly expands an initiative that helps state and local governments finance infrastructure projects.
A far larger measure that would extend health insurance subsidies and jobless checks for the unemployed is in the works but has hit slow going. That measure has passed both House and Senate but is hung up as the rival chambers wrangle over how to partially finance the legislation, which also would extend a variety of tax breaks for individuals and businesses.
As a result, it may require a third temporary extension of unemployment benefits, which would otherwise expire at the end of this month.
The Senate vote comes as the House Ways and Means Committee is scheduled to vote on a bill Wednesday that lawmakers hope will generate jobs through infrastructure spending and tax cuts for investing in some small businesses. The bill would exempt long-term investments in certain small businesses from capital gains taxes, and would expand the Build America Bonds program, which subsidizes interest costs paid by local governments when they borrow for construction projects.
The bond program would be extended through June 2013, at a cost of $7.6 billion. The entire bill would cost about $17 billion over the next decade.
Much of the bill would be paid for by limiting the ability of multinational corporations to avoid U.S. withholding taxes by shifting assets among foreign countries. The bill would also make it easier for the federal government to withhold payments from government contractors that owe back taxes.
AP The bipartisan 68-29 vote in the Senate sends the legislation to the White House, where President Barack Obama has promised to sign it into law.
It will be the first of several election-year jobs bills promised by Democrats to be enacted into law, though there's plenty of skepticism that the measure will do much to actually create jobs. Optimistic estimates predict the tax break could generate perhaps 250,000 jobs through the end of the year, but that would be just a tiny fraction of the 8.4 million jobs lost since the start of the recession.
The measure is part of a campaign by Democrats to show that they are addressing the nation's unemployment problem, but that message was overshadowed by Congress' feverish final push to pass health care overhaul legislation by this weekend.
The bill which passed Wednesday contains about $18 billion in tax breaks and a $20 billion infusion of cash into highway and transit programs. Among other things, it exempts businesses that hire the unemployed from paying the 6.2 percent Social Security payroll tax through December and gives employers an additional $1,000 credit if new workers stay on the job a full year. Taxpayers will have to reimburse Social Security for the lost revenue.
"This is just the first, certainly not the last, piece of legislation that we will put forward in relation to jobs," said sponsor Charles Schumer, D-N.Y. "If we don't create jobs, the economy will not move forward."
It also extends highway and mass transit programs through the end of the year and pump in $20 billion in time for the spring construction season. That money would make up for lower-than-expected gasoline tax revenues.
The measure is modest compared with last year's $862 billion economic stimulus bill, and the bulk of the hiring tax breaks would probably go to companies that were likely to hire new workers anyway.
Much of the bill is financed over the coming decade by cracking down on offshore tax havens, though it would add $13 billion to the debt in the coming three years.
"When are we going to stop spending money around here as if there's no tomorrow?" said Sen. Judd Gregg, R-N.H. "Because pretty soon there's going to be no tomorrow for our children as we add this debt to their backs."
In addition to the hiring tax incentives and highway funding, the bill extends a tax break for small businesses buying new equipment and modestly expands an initiative that helps state and local governments finance infrastructure projects.
A far larger measure that would extend health insurance subsidies and jobless checks for the unemployed is in the works but has hit slow going. That measure has passed both House and Senate but is hung up as the rival chambers wrangle over how to partially finance the legislation, which also would extend a variety of tax breaks for individuals and businesses.
As a result, it may require a third temporary extension of unemployment benefits, which would otherwise expire at the end of this month.
The Senate vote comes as the House Ways and Means Committee is scheduled to vote on a bill Wednesday that lawmakers hope will generate jobs through infrastructure spending and tax cuts for investing in some small businesses. The bill would exempt long-term investments in certain small businesses from capital gains taxes, and would expand the Build America Bonds program, which subsidizes interest costs paid by local governments when they borrow for construction projects.
The bond program would be extended through June 2013, at a cost of $7.6 billion. The entire bill would cost about $17 billion over the next decade.
Much of the bill would be paid for by limiting the ability of multinational corporations to avoid U.S. withholding taxes by shifting assets among foreign countries. The bill would also make it easier for the federal government to withhold payments from government contractors that owe back taxes.
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And from this point forward I will be asking the hard questions of my representatives. Understand it is not up to Fox, CBS, NBC, CNN or any other news agency to tell you what is going on, it is our responsibility and if you don?t make the time this is what happens. And if you are in one of the States that is receiving kick backs, you need to call your representative, and let him or her know, that you don?t won?t corrupt representatives. Because if we stay silent, we than also become culpable, it is the corruption that is killing us. Here are some of the web pages I found useful.
www.recovery.gov Track the Money and the spending, this is a government web page.
www.epw.senate.gov U.S. Senate Committee on Environment, Public Works.
www.opensecrets.org OpenSecrets.org is your nonpartisan guide to money?s influence on U.S. elections and public policy. Whether you?re a voter, journalist, activist, student or interested citizen, use our free site to shine light on your government. Count cash and make change.
www.financialcrisisupdate.com The CCH Financial Crisis News Center is intended to provide the legal community and others with news and links to vital information on the current financial crisis
www.senate.gov Congressional Record, Bills & Resolutions
www.cop.senate.gov Congressional Oversight Panel
www.whorunsgov.com A Washington Post Company but gives quick list of who are in a government office.
www.judicialwatch.org Judicial Watch, a conservative, non-partisan educational foundation
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1BaBj7G26tU&NR=1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=exM8vf2eC5I
But those leases, they're for specialized, bulletproof SUVs to keep our elected officials safe, right? Well, not so much. A little digging from Politico shows that members of Congress just don't know how to shop around. Of the top five lease prices listed, the most exorbitant monthly outlay at least appears to come with the best excuse. Missouri Democrat Emanuel Cleaver pays a reported $2,900 a month for a mobile office equipped with wifi and a wheelchair lift. Representative Cleaver justifies the hefty price tag by arguing that he uses the vehicle as his mobile office, foregoing the off-site office many other representatives have. Oh, and the mobile office runs on used cooking oil.
Other congressmen have less credible excuses, but it apparently isn't stopping them from giving it the old college try. House Intelligence Committee Chairman Silvestre Reyes (D-Texas) $1,628 to lease a GMC Yukon. Reyes blames short lease terms and fuel efficiency regulations on the high lease prices. Meanwhile, we suspect that every other American with decent credit can choose from dozens of CUVs or SUVs with 24-month leases for less than $600 per month.
Rep. Carolyn Cheeks Kilpatrick (D-Mich.) rolls in a $1,230 per month Chevrolet Tahoe. A spokesperson for Cheeks Kilpatrick claims the 13th District rep. leases the vehicle because General Motors headquarters resides within her district. Ironically, Cheeks Kilpatrick's son, Kwame Kilpatrick, the former Detroit mayor who left office in disgrace after being found guilty of perjury, caught plenty of flack a few years back for spending $1,000 per month for a taxpayer-funded Lincoln Navigator.
Rep. Harry Teague (D-N.M.), reportedly worth more than $36 million dollars, pays $1,266 per month for a Chevrolet Malibu. That's right, folks, a Malibu. Not a bad vehicle by any stretch, but $1,266 per month? Really? Other high lease offenders include Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. (D-Ill.), who rides in a $1,259 per month hybrid Toyota Highlander, Rep. Lacy Clay (D-Mo.), who trolls the St. Louis streets in $1,059 a month Ford Escape hybrid and Rep. Paul Kanjorski (D-Pa.) with his $1,026 per month Mercury Mariner hybrid. Not to be left out, Rep. Sam Johnson (R-Texas) apparently also spends $1,143 every month for an unspecified leased vehicle, and multimillionaire Rep. Gary Miller (R-Calif.) leases a Lexus RX400h for $843 taxpayer-funded dollars a month, reportedly arguing that he needs the vehicle's bigger accomodations because he's over six-feet tall and has to make an hourlong commute twice a week.
Head over to Politico to read more about congress and the expensive vehicles they lease on your dime. We're thinking there are thousands of Autoblog readers who can help their congressmen procure a more cost effective lease vehicle than some of the ridiculous prices you just read about. Any volunteers?