Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN) was one of the Senators who switched from voting against cloture on the jobs bill on Monday, to voting in favor of its passage today. So what was the reason for this difference?
TPM asked Alexander’s office for an explanation of why he voted block the bill on Monday, compared to his vote for it today. Alexander’s press secretary Jim Jeffries told us: “The senator also said of his Monday vote, ‘Majority Leader Reid wouldn’t allow Republicans to offer amendments.’ His vote on Monday was against ending debate on the bill.”
On Monday, when he voted against cloture, Alexander released a statement: “The Majority Leader rejected a bipartisan bill supported by the White House and many senators and instead forced through a partisan proposal. This new bill will do only a fraction of what the original bill would have done to help businesses create jobs and ignores key benefits for unemployed Americans that are set to expire this week.”
Today, after voting in favor of the bill, Alexander released a new statement: “I voted for this bill because it provides tax incentives for businesses to hire unemployed workers; permits small businesses to deduct their capital investments from their taxes, which gives them more money to create jobs; and provides much-needed funds for our highways.”
