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Progress in the Senate

November 8, 2011 - by Donny Shaw

While the House is out on recess, the Senate is doing something quite remarkable this week — they’re voting on a bipartisan basis to advance bits and pieces of President Obama’s jobs bill. But while this is certainly progress and a net positive, the incredibly limited scope of what they’re advancing, compared with the enormity of the crisis facing the economy, also underscores just how dysfunctional Congress is.

The bill that the Senate voted last night, 94-1, to begin debating, would repeal a rule that has yet to take effect requiring the government to withhold 3% of payments to federal contractors as a downpayment on the tax liabilities. The idea, according to Obama, is to eliminate “burdensome withholding requirements that keep capital out of the hands of job creators.” Since repealing that rule will make it easier for contractors to dodge taxes, the Congressional Budget Office has estimated that it will decrease projected revenues by $11 billion over 10 years. To make up the difference the bill would reduce the number of people who will be eligible for Medicaid benefits under the new health care law.

The second part of the bill, which is expected to be approved as an amendment by a bipartisan vote, is an expansion of tax credits for businesses that hire unemployed veterans. This is great in that it will help veterans returning home from Iraq and Afghanistan find jobs, but it won’t help increase hiring in general and the stimulative effect of giving these tax credits to businesses will be negligible.

And that’s it — the Senate has effectively whittled Obama’s sweeping jobs bill down to an extension of the status quo for contractor withholdings, cuts to Medicaid benefits, and tax credits for hiring veterans.

Of course, this fits right in with the other “jobs” accomplishments of the 112th Congress so far, namely the patent reform bill and the three new free trade deals. They’re all definitely good for business’ bottom lines, and they all may create a few jobs on the side. In the cases of the free trade bill and the patent bills, they may destroy a good amount of jobs too, but that’s besides the point. This is bipartisanship in the 112th Congress, folks. At least this time they’re helping veterans.

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veterans unemployment Unemployment jobs bipartisanship Jobs Veterans Bipartisanship American Jobs Act
 

Comments

  • ninetyniner 11/10/2011 1:01pm
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    I am absolutely appalled that anyone in congress would think that cutting medicaid is the way to pay for new legislation of any kind!!Speaking as someone who has never received medicaid benefits even though my income for the past year and a half has been zero due to exhausting all unemployment benefits,there are plenty of ways to save taxpayer money without cutting programs for the poor. Surely lawmakers don’t think we the people of America are so stupid that we don’t see the ones who are only concerned about protecting the wealthy while millions go without health care,basic human neccessities such as toilet tissue,soap and tooth paste…..and increasingly even food!!

  • chrismarklee 11/10/2011 3:20pm
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    I repeat both parties need to work together for American. Even if an election
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