Harry Reid seeks to capitalize on rare moment of bipartisanship to push veterans bill
Las Vegas Sun, 11/7/11 - After decisive votes in the House and Senate, Congress is on the brink of a rare thing: bipartisan support for a piece of President Barack Obama’s jobs bill.
And Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid isn’t letting the moment go without attempting to make one good bipartisan turn yield another.
The Senate voted overwhelmingly (94 to 1) Monday evening to move forward on a bill that would repeal a 3 percent withholding tax on federal and state government contractors, a regulation of George W. Bush’s presidency that hasn’t taken effect yet. It’s slated to, in 2013 — that is, unless Congress repeals it first, which it appears to be on its way to: the House voted 405 to 16 in favor of the repeal last month.
Reid now plans to attach language that would give a tax break to companies who hire recent veterans — another bit of Obama’s jobs plan — to the tax withholding bill.
“It is time for this country to make good on its promise,” Reid said on the Senate floor Monday afternoon, citing veterans’ unemployment statistics: 12.1 percent among those who have served since September 11, and 22 percent for those under age 25.
“As we pay tribute this week to the millions of Americans veterans who have faithfully served our flag, Democrats will introduce legislation to put those men and women back to work,” Reid said.
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Harry Reid seeks to capitalize on rare moment of bipartisanship to push veterans bill
Las Vegas Sun, 11/7/11 - After decisive votes in the House and Senate, Congress is on the brink of a rare thing: bipartisan support for a piece of President Barack Obama’s jobs bill.
And Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid isn’t letting the moment go without attempting to make one good bipartisan turn yield another.
The Senate voted overwhelmingly (94 to 1) Monday evening to move forward on a bill that would repeal a 3 percent withholding tax on federal and state government contractors, a regulation of George W. Bush’s presidency that hasn’t taken effect yet. It’s slated to, in 2013 — that is, unless Congress repeals it first, which it appears to be on its way to: the House voted 405 to 16 in favor of the repeal last month.
Reid now plans to attach language that would give a tax break to companies who hire recent veterans — another bit of Obama’s jobs plan — to the tax withholding bill.
“It is time for this country to make good on its promise,” Reid said on the Senate floor Monday afternoon, citing veterans’ unemployment statistics: 12.1 percent among those who have served since September 11, and 22 percent for those under age 25.
“As we pay tribute this week to the millions of Americans veterans who have faithfully served our flag, Democrats will introduce legislation to put those men and women back to work,” Reid said.
Read the whole article >>
