Labor & Employment Law

House Passes Jobs Bill?Tell Senate to Act NOW

By Seth Michaels

Last night, the U.S. House passed a critical bill to assist our struggling economy and create jobs.

By a 217-212 vote, the House passed a package that would extend unemployment insurance, aid state governments and fund important infrastructure projects. Some of these initiatives are renewals of funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which are set to expire at the end of the year.

The House’s bill would help state and local governments retain teachers and firefighters and maintain services critical in this time of economic hardship. It also would create jobs by funding public works projects like school construction, rail, transit, water systems and highways. And by extending unemployment insurance and COBRA health care coverage, it gives critical help to those suffering from the jobs crisis at a time when the economy needs consumer demand. The House bill is paid for out of bank bailout funds, so it will not impact the deficit.

The bill must next be approved by the U.S. Senate. But unless we light a fire under that august body, nothing will move before the end of the year and the unemployment insurance for millions of jobless workers will expire.

Tell senators to pass the Jobs for Main Street Act (H.R. 2847), which invests $154 billion to create and save jobs. The bill invests in highway and mass transit projects, building and repairing schools and low-income housing, creating and saving jobs for teachers, police and firefighters and additional hiring and training programs. The bill also extends recovery act initiatives to help small businesses create jobs, lifeline unemployment, health care and food aid to people who have lost their jobs and cuts taxes for 16 million families through the Child Tax Credit. And it’s totally paid for with leftover bank bailout funds.    

You can view the roll call on the House vote here.

We need to urgently create jobs and deal with our unemployment crisis. Aid to state governments, extending the lifeline to unemployed workers and funding infrastructure projects are key components of the AFL-CIO’s five-point plan to create jobs. The House’s bill is a down payment, but we must continue to take robust action on jobs.

Full post as published by AFL-CIO NOW BLOG on December 17, 2009 (boomark / email).