After months of GOP-induced gridlock aimed at thwarting President Obama’s agenda in advance of midterm elections, five Republicans–including its newest member, Scott Brown of Massachusetts–offered their support for a $15 billion Democrat-made jobs bill, getting it over a procedural stumbling block and setting it up for a vote later this week.
The 62-to-30 vote — two more yeses than the minimum required to get past a procedural roadblock — cleared the way for the Senate to vote Wednesday to approve the measure, which Democrats said would create tens of thousands of new jobs at a time when the unemployment rate is hovering near double digits and is expected to remain high for years to come. But it is not clear whether the House, which has backed a broader approach, will go along without making substantial changes.
With the midterm elections already revving up and the parties facing deep ideological divides over a host of issues, there was no evidence that Monday’s vote was the beginning of a trend. But after being repeatedly stymied by Republicans on a series of initiatives and nominations over the past months, Democrats were elated with the outcome and expressed gratitude to Republicans who sided with them in cutting off a potential filibuster.
“Today, jobs triumphed over politics,” said Senator Barbara Boxer, Democrat of California.
Senator Scott Brown, the newly elected Republican from Massachusetts, was the first member of his party to cast his vote for the measure. He was followed by Senators Susan Collins and Olympia J. Snowe of Maine, George V. Voinovich of Ohio and Christopher S. Bond of Missouri, who voted after it became evident that Democrats would prevail. Senator Ben Nelson of Nebraska was the sole Democrat to vote no.
