Jobs Bill Narrowly Passes in House

Washington, DC, Dec. 17, 2009--House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) muscled a $154 billion jobs bill through the House on Wednesday evening just before Congress departed for a holiday recess.

The bill passed 217-212.

The jobs bill would use $75 billion in money earmarked for the Wall Street bailout and redirect it to infrastructure investment and aid to states.

The bill also extends the duration of the COBRA subsidy from nine months to 15 months, extends the deadline for eligibility to June 30, 2010, extends by six months unemployment benefits that would have expired at the end of the year, and expands a child tax credit to 16 million families.