WASHINGTON ? Congressional Democrats and Republicans rallied on a rare patch of common ground Wednesday, moving toward passage of legislation helping unemployed veterans and government contractors.
The GOP-run House was expected to give the measure near unanimous approval, less than a week after the Democratic-led Senate passed it 95-0. It would represent the first tiny shred of President Barack Obama's ambitious, nearly $450 billion job-creation package, to become law.
Despite the newfound party unity on this single, narrow issue, Democrats and Republicans also used the floor discussion to highlight their political differences.
Republicans said it was time for the Senate to approve nearly 20 House-passed bills that they say would create jobs, mostly by repealing or blocking energy and other regulations, and they touted Wednesday's vote as part of that drive.
"It sends a message to America's job creators that jobs are our No. 1 priority and that Congress is committed to undoing policies that stand in the way of restoring prosperity," said Rep. Wally Herger, R-Calif.
Rep. Sander Levin said the bill's provisions were modest steps toward resuscitating the ailing job market and said Republicans needed to go much further.
"Passage of this bill represents a challenge to the majority in this House: End your blockade of comprehensive jobs legislation" proposed by Obama, the Michigan Democrat said.
Obama proposed a $447 billion jobs program in September, a proposal that would have continued reduced payroll taxes for workers and employers, extended unemployment insurance benefits and provided money to build roads, modernize schools and hire teachers, police and firefighters.
Enactment of the bill debated Wednesday would let Obama and lawmakers claim credit for protecting jobs at a time when the public is clearly furious over the nation's unemployment rate, which has been stuck at around 9 percent. With the president and congressional Republicans in strong disagreement over how to fix the sluggish economy, he and lawmakers may not have many other job-related accomplishments to show voters in time for next year's presidential and congressional elections.
The bill would repeal a 2006 law requiring the federal, state and local governments to withhold 3 percent of their payments to many companies with which they do business. That statute, which doesn't take effect until 2013, was supposed to pressure contractors to fully pay their taxes, but lawmakers now say the withholding would deny cash to companies that they could better use to hire more workers.
Trying to keep the pressure on, a coalition of around 200 industry groups ? from aeronautical repair businesses to water treatment companies ? wrote to House members this week urging passage of the bill.
"The profit margin for many businesses is often less than 3 percent, meaning that the withholding tax will create significant cash flow problems for day-to-day operations as well as draining capital that could be used for job creation and business expansion," they wrote.
Many economists have said annulling the withholding law would have a minimal impact on hiring.
Erasing the law would reduce federal revenues by an estimated $11.2 billion over the coming decade. It would be paid for by making it harder for some elderly people to qualify for Medicaid by changing the formula used to determine their eligibility.
The bill would also establish new or more generous tax credits for companies hiring unemployed veterans, up to $9,600 for disabled vets who have looked for work for more than half a year. The size of the credit would be based on the worker's salary and how long the worker was unemployed.
Obama proposed the new tax credits in his $447 billion jobs bill in September. The credits would cost an estimated $95 million over 10 years, far less than 1 percent of the overall bill's price tag.
Lawmakers have rejected or ignored most of Obama's jobs plan. The president has made repeated speeches and campaign-style trips promoting it and blaming Congress for not approving the package.
The measure the House was debating Wednesday would also expand education and job training benefits for veterans, improve job counseling that troops get before leaving the military and provide an additional year of job services for disabled veterans.
The hiring tax credits and veterans' programs would be financed by extending a fee the Veterans Affairs Department charges to back mortgages.
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