Senate must pass small-business incentives, Voinovich says

[ProSense]

Source: The Washington Post

Retiring Sen. George Voinovich (R-Ohio) said he plans to help push a package of small-business incentives through the Senate next week, a move that would give President Obama and congressional Democrats a key victory on the economy in the final weeks before the November midterm elections.

In an interview, Voinovich said he could no longer support efforts by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) to delay the measure in hopes of winning the right to offer additional GOP amendments. Most of the proposed amendments "didn't have anything to do with the bill" anyway, Voinovich said, and amounted merely to partisan "messaging."

"We don't have time for messaging. We don't have time anymore. This country is really hurting," Voinovich said. If a single amendment to reduce paperwork for business owners is considered on the floor, Voinovich said he told Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) that he would add his vote to that of 59 Democrats. That would give the majority party the 60 votes needed to overcome possible a GOP filibuster and move the package to final passage when Congress returns to Washington next week.

The small-business bill is a top priority for Obama, who has called repeatedly on Senate Republicans to drop their "blockade" of the measure. He mentioned it again during a speech Wednesday in Cleveland, arguing that the weeks of delay in the bill's passage "is actually leading (small-business owners) to put off hiring."


Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/09/09/AR2010090903599.html

[nyc 4 Biden]

1. good for him...

key word here is "retiring." it's nice when the GOPers can use there own brains once in a while without worrying about retribution from the mother-ship.

[Ikonoklast]

2. Republican boot-licker Voinovich finds 'nads a little too late.

Ohio thanks you for leaving, Do-Nothing George.

[Enthusiast]

3. About time he did something right. nt