The Capital Job, Part 4

The Senate has passed the jobs bill, 70-28.  All Dems voted for it.  Even Jim Inhofe wasn't going to vote against this.

But Ben Nelson did!

"We've had so much gridlock," said Sen. Charles E. 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 M. 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, where Democratic leaders are weighing whether to pass the Senate version or go to conference to reconcile it with the $154 billion jobs bill the House passed in December. 

Needless to say, it's not over with yet.  This is going to get tied up for quite some time, I'm betting.  The House will most certainly want to make this a jobs bill worth passing.  $15 billion is chump change.  That's a week in Iraq.