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House OKs Jobs Bill In 'Rare Agreement' With Obama

Sometimes bipartisanship does shine down on the Capitol.
Chip Somodevilla
/
Getty Images
Sometimes bipartisanship does shine down on the Capitol.

Update at 1:55 p.m. ET. The House Passes JOBS Act:

Saying that it shows the federal legislature can work in a bipartisan fashion, the Republican-controlled House passed the JOBS Act, which was supported by President Obama.

"It is a welcome sign that we can put our differences aside and work together to produce results to help boost the economy and get people back to work," House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., said, according to the AP.

The bill was passed with a vote of 390-23.

Our Original Post Continues:

All those anxious to see some bipartisanship on Capitol Hill should be interested in this news:

"The House is expected to vote Thursday on a jobs bill that would mark rare agreement between the Obama administration and House Republicans." (CNN.com)

As The Hill explains, the "Jumpstart Our Business Startups (JOBS) Act ... is broadly aimed at making capital formation easier for new companies. Among other things, it creates a new class of companies that would enjoy relaxed Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) rules, allowing small companies to go public sooner."

The White House has given the measure "its blessing," MSNBC adds, but the bill does have "an uncertain fate in the Senate, where a number of the bills included in the package have been waiting for a vote for — at times — months. Incorporated into the JOBS Act are six bills, four of which have already passed through the House with over 400 votes each, but have failed to be introduced in the Democratic-held Senate."

Still, as The Washington Post's 2chambers blog puts it: "Wake the kids and alert the neighbors: The White House, House Democrats and House Republicans actually agree on something." And, it reports, "Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid, D-Nev., said Tuesday that the Senate probably would take up legislation 'in the same framework' in the coming days."

You can read the JOBS Act here.

(H/T to NPR's Jean Cochran.)

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Mark Memmott is NPR's supervising senior editor for Standards & Practices. In that role, he's a resource for NPR's journalists – helping them raise the right questions as they do their work and uphold the organization's standards.