In keeping with a key theme of President Obama’s State of the Union Address, lawmakers introduced a number of bills this week that seek to increase hiring. Sen. Al Franken’s (D-Minn.) bill, the Strengthening Our Economy Through Employment and Development (“SEED” or “Cash For Jobs”) Act (S. 2952), would take $10 billion in existing funds from the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) and re-allocate it to creating jobs in the private and public sectors. This measure would use half of this amount to provide wage subsidies to encourage private sector hiring. Specifically, according to a press release:

• The job creation wage subsidy would provide the capital that many businesses and organizations need to grow their workforce and expand their operations.
• Small and medium-sized non-profit and private sector employers would be eligible for a job creation wage subsidy administered through local Workforce Investment Act (WIA) One-Stop Career Centers.
• The One-Stop Career Centers would grant the subsidies to eligible employers on a first-come, first serve basis to incentivize rapid job creation.
• The job creation subsidy would be available for 50 percent of wages, up to a $12 per hour subsidy.
• Employers that hire veterans who have returned from Iraq and Afghanistan would be eligible for an enhanced job creation wage subsidy of 60 percent.
• Employers would be eligible for the job creation subsidy for 12 months.
• The job creation subsidy would be paid directly to participating employers twice per month through their Workforce Service Area for the first nine months, and the subsidy for the 10th, 11th and 12th months would be paid in a lump sum at the end of the 15th month upon certification that the worker was retained.

The remaining $5 billion would be granted directly to states, local governments, and tribes to create green jobs. This legislation has been referred to the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.

The same day the SEED Act was introduced, Sen. Russ Feingold (D-Wis.) introduced a bill (S. 2955) that would create a 2-year temporary jobs tax credit for businesses that hire new employees, expand work hours for their current workforce, or raise worker pay. According to a press release, this tax credit would:

• Amount to 15 percent of the increase in eligible payroll for 2010 and 10 percent of the increase in 2011.
• Make pay hikes for high-salary workers ineligible.
• Be based on a firm’s total eligible payroll so it would reward firms that expand work hours or raise pay as well as hiring more workers.
• Be calculated on a quarter over year-ago-quarter basis to avoid seasonal employment spikes. For example, wages for the first quarter of 2010 are compared with wages for the first quarter of 2009.
• Not be eligible for the wages of firm owners and their family members.
• Be offset so as to not increase the deficit.

This bill has been referred to the Senate Committee on Finance.

In the House of Representatives, Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-Fla.) introduced the Job Creation Act of 2010 (H.R. 4513), a bill containing a five-point plan calling for tax relief for small business investments and capital gains, a one year elimination of taxes on unemployment benefits, and using repaid TARP funds to help pay down the national debt. The measure also contains provisions outlining legal reforms to curb frivolous lawsuits against small businesses. For example, the bill would impose mandatory sanctions against attorneys or parties who file frivolous lawsuits; remove a “safe harbor” provision that allows plaintiffs and their attorneys to avoid sanctions for frivolous suits by withdrawing them within 21 days; and reduce forum shopping by requiring that plaintiffs in civil tort actions sue only where they live or were injured, or where the defendant's principal place of business is located. This bill has been referred to the House Committees on Ways and Means, Financial Services, and the Judiciary.

Earlier this month, Rep. Bob Etheridge’s (D-NC) introduced the Hiring Incentives to Reinvest and Incentivize New Growth (HIRING) Act of 2010 (H.R. 4437), legislation that would provide a refundable tax credit to any business that expands its payroll by a certain percentage.

In December, the House of Representatives passed the Jobs for Main Street Act of 2010, a bill that would, among other things, divert $75 billion from TARP to fund infrastructure programs, job stabilization efforts, and emergency relief measures. The Senate is expected to take up one or more job creation bills shortly. 

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