House Passes $15B Jobs Bill

The House today passed a $15 billion jobs bill that gives tax breaks to companies that make new hires. The scaled-down measure passed 217-201 on a mostly party-line vote and now heads back to the Senate. The bill also includes $20 billion for road and bridge construction.

Democrats characterized the bill as much smaller than they would have liked but as a necessary first step. "If that's the only thing that I can vote on ... I'll vote for it, obviously," said Rep. Bill Pascrell. "We've got to get something moving. We've got to get something done." (More tax breaks stories.)