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February 23, 2010

Democrats $15B Jobs Bill Advances in Senate with GOP Help
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In a rare sign of bipartisanship on Capitol Hill, five Republican
senators broke ranks with their party on Monday to advance a $15 billion
job-creation measure put forward by Democrats. Senator Scott Brown, the
newly elected Republican from Massachusetts, was the first member of his
party to cast his vote for the measure. The bill focuses mostly on tax
breaks for companies to encourage hiring. The bill has come under
criticism by the Congressional Black Caucus for not directing any money
to poor communities. Black lawmakers had sought a job bill where ten
percent of the money in each of its provisions go to communities where
at least 20 percent of the people are low-income.



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