WASHINGTON — The Senate easily passed a $15 billion jobs bill Wednesday morning amid hope that the measure could provide a blueprint for other items on President Obama's agenda.
The measure passed 70-28, with 13 Republicans joining 57 Democrats in support of the package. One Democrat, Sen. Ben Nelson of Nebraska, voted against it.
"We've had so much gridlock," said Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., co-author of a key portion of the bill. Now, he said, "finally we have something" bipartisan to show the public.
The legislation is the first element of what Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., has said will be a multipart "jobs agenda." The measure includes a new program that would give companies a break from paying Social Security taxes on new employees for the remainder of 2010. It also carries a one-year extension of the Highway Trust Fund, an expansion of the Build America Bonds program and a provision to allow companies to write off equipment purchases.
The next stop is the House. A spokesman for Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said the House was on track to pass the bill this week.
Wednesday's passage of the Senate bill was made possible by five GOP defections on a procedural vote Monday — from two retiring senators from the Midwest and three New Englanders seeking to maintain a foothold in a region where Republican officeholders have grown scarce in recent elections.
Freshman Sen. Scott Brown, R-Mass., grabbed the headlines, deciding on the first big vote of his new career to side with Democrats and the two GOP moderates from Maine, Sens. Susan Collins and Olympia J. Snowe.
Just days after Brown was greeted rapturously by attendees at the Conservative Political Action Conference, his vote on the jobs measure made Reid "very happy," the majority leader said. Reaction on the right was less complimentary.
One leader of the Tea Party movement has taken to calling the freshman "Benedict Brown," and disillusioned conservatives filled Brown's Facebook page with accusations that he was a "Judas" and a "sellout."
On Tuesday, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., declined to criticize Brown for his vote. "The Republican Party represents all parts of the country, different points of view," McConnell said during a news conference. "We don't expect our members to be in lockstep on every single issue, and we're happy to have him here."
