US $15bn job package
The US Senate has approved a $15bn package of tax breaks and highway spending that aims to bring down the country's stubbornly high unemployment rate24/02/2010
By a vote of 70 to 28, the Senate approved the bill and sent it on to
the House of Representatives, which could approve the measure quickly
for President Barack Obama to sign into law.
The House has already passed a substantially different $155bn jobs
bill, but observers say it is likely to take up the Senate version to
ensure that a highway-construction fund is not disrupted.
"The Senate has an ability to drive this process," said Peter Peyser, who lobbies for state and local governments.
The bill includes a $13bn payroll tax break for businesses that hire
unemployed workers, along with subsidies for state and local
construction bonds.
It also extends the highway-construction fund through the end of the year.
The bill's costs are offset by a crackdown on offshore tax shelters.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said he expects to take up a second
jobs bill that could extend unemployment benefits, renew an expired
research-and-development tax break, and provide money to cash-strapped
states.
