Senate passes parts of Obama's jobs bill

The Senate overwhelmingly passed two smaller parts of President Obama's jobs bill today, a repeal of a withholding tax on companies receiving government contracts, and a tax credit for business which hire veterans.

The final vote was 95-0 with one senator [Olympia Snowe, R-ME] voting "present. The legislation, which is expected to pass in the House, will provide tax credits to businesses who hire unemployed veterans, and, separately, will eliminate a requirement that the IRS withhold three percent of government contracts, to assure compliance with the tax code. That requirement isn’t currently in effect, but is scheduled to be implemented January 1, 2012.