The House narrowly passed a $15 billion jobs bill on Thursday, but only after Democrats beat back surprisingly vocal opposition from their conservative and liberal flanks.
The bill, which has a series of tax credits aimed at job creation, passed 217-201, narrowly avoiding an embarrassing loss for Democrats on a top electoral priority. Because the House made a small change to the bill, it still has to make one brief stop in the Senate before it heads to the president’s desk to be signed into law.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi promised that the bill would be the first of several proposals designed to boost job growth.
“It will be one in a series of other jobs bills that will come forward," she said on Thursday.
Congressional Black Caucus members opposed the legislation, which they slammed as too small to have any significant impact on job creation in already struggling areas.
"All I can see in front of me is the Senate," said Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-Mo.).
But Pelosi picked up votes by giving in to the demands of the fiscally conservative Blue Dog caucus, which was reluctant to back the legislation if leadership waived the pay-as-you-go law intended to keep the deficit under control.
Democratic leaders agreed to extend a corporate tax break included in the bill for one additional year — a small tweak that will allow the $2 billion cost of the bill to be fully paid for.
Congressional Democrats and the White House have pointed to pay-go as a major legislative victory. The rule is particularly important to conservative Democrats, who fear they will face an electoral backlash to the massive economic spending programs like the stimulus passed by Congress.
Because of the change, the legislation now heads back to the Senate where it's expected to quickly pass, then head to President Barack Obama’s desk for his signature.
The legislation could also pick up backing from some Republican lawmakers, who supported the bill in the Senate. The bill passed by a 70-28 margin last month.
The Senate has already moved on to its next jobs proposal, taking up a $150 billion bill that would provide a longer term extension of popular corporate tax breaks, unemployment benefits, and other provisions.
"I frankly think in the end there'll be a lot of Republican support," said Senate Finance Chairman Max Baucus.
Still, GOP House leader John Boehner slammed the effort, complaining that Republican leadership received the text of the legislation at 9:35 a.m. Thursday.
"It's just another example of how they continue to ram partisan legislation through the house without the transparency and accountability that the American people expect," he said.
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