Brown and 4 other GOPers vote to pass jobs bill

The party of "no," became the party of "yes" on Monday, when five Republicans joined Senate Democrats to vote in favor of moving Sen. Harry Reid's $15 billion jobs bill forward.

Republicans had originally thought the 41st vote they picked up when Sen. Scott Brown (R-MA) was elected, would allow them to filibuster every bill Democrats brought to the Senate floor. However, Brown along with four other Republicans - Sens. Olympia Snowe (R-ME), Susan Collins (R-ME), Kit Bond (R-MO) and George Voinovich (R-OH) - broke stride with their party and helped Democrats overcome the dreaded GOP filibuster. Sen. Ben Nelson (D-NE) was the only Democrat to break with his party.

The final vote tally was 62-30.

Any hope of passing the bill was almost lost when Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) was forced to leave the Senate after being diagnosed with stomach cancer. This forced Democrats to find two Republican votes in order to avoid the filibuster.

"Work with us on this," Sen. Majority Leader Harry Reid said prior to the vote. "Show us you're serious about legislating."

After the vote, Reid added: "I hope this is the beginning of a new day here in the Senate."

Brown also addressed his decision to support the legislation following the vote: "I came to Washington to be an independent voice, to put politics aside, and to do everything in my power to help create jobs for Massachusetts families. This Senate jobs bill is not perfect. I wish the tax cuts were deeper and broader, but I voted for it because it contains measures that will help put people back to work."

The bill, which was scaled back from the original version, would renew the Build-America Bonds Act of 2009, extend tax breaks for small businesses, renew highway programs through December, exempt businesses from paying Social Security payroll taxes this year after hiring a new worker and put $20 billion in the highway trust fund.

The legislation could head to final vote later this week and is intended to merge with a broader, $150 billion version that has already passed the House.

While the vote is not a stunning surprise considering the five Republicans are all considered more-or-less to be middle of the road politically, it is good to finally know that at least a handful of Republicans can say more than just "no." Although, 37 Republicans did vote against a bill that will undoubtedly help create jobs for the millions of Americans currently out of work. Also, two of the Senators who voted in favor of moving the bill forward are set to retire this year. Either way, it is good to see the American government, most notably the Senate, working for the people again.

Check out an outline of both the Senate and House bills below.

SENATE JOBS BILL

• A $13 billion hiring incentive, by offering an employer exemption from Social Security payroll taxes for every unemployed worker hired in 2010.
• More "Build America" bonds for projects such as local schools.
• A one-year highway bill extension.
• Speedy tax write-offs for small-business expenses.

HOUSE JOBS BILL

• Infrastructure spending of $48.3 billion for roads, bridges, modernized public buildings, and clean water.
• Aid to local governments totaling $26.7 billion.
• Help for the unemployed and for working families, at a cost of $79 billion.
• Other provisions including a highway-bill extension.