First the Good News From the Jobs Bills

On Wednesday, the Senate passed its tax cuts/jobs bill by a vote of 62 to 36. Six Republicans voted in favor and only one Democrat against.

The bill includes several important provisions that will reduce hardships for jobless workers and help plug the budget gaps states are facing, thus perhaps limiting some cutbacks to programs and services for low-income people.

• Extensions of expanded unemployment benefits and COBRA subsidies through the end of this year.
• An extension of the increased federal match for state Medicaid programs.
• Adjustments that will temporarily continue the reduced Medicare Part D payments states have to make to the federal government.

Now the not-good news.

The amendment that would have extended the TANF Emergency Contingency Fund didn't pass, even though a majority voted in favor. As blogger Arthur Delaney explains, Sen. Judd Gregg (R-NH) used a technical maneuver to require 60 votes for passage -- five more than supporters had lined up.

Bundled together with the Emergency Fund extension was an extension of another stimulus provision that would have provided an additional $1.3 billion for summer youth employment programs.

Judd apparently is more worried about passing debts on to our children than the nearly 15 million teenagers who are out of work now or the children of 100,000 or more TANF parents whose subsidized jobs are at risk. And, as Half in Ten manager Melissa Boteach says, needlessly worried because the costs of the amendment would have been fully offset in 10 years.

This happily is not the end of the story. The House of Representatives has to pass the bill for it to become law. Amendments can be added there.

Given what hangs in the balance, the House will move toward a vote quickly. So if you want to weigh in, you should e-mail your Representative. Better yet, call his or her office and leave a brief message. Phone numbers are on the Representatives' websites. You can access them from the House home page.

Photo credit: o palsson