CBO Scores Second Senate Jobs Bill
Today, Senate Majority leader Harry Reid introduced a second jobs bill, following the first $16 billion jobs bill (-$1.1 billion 11-year deficit impact) that passed the Senate on Wednesday. According to the CBO, this bill would provide about $10 billion for temporary extensions in existing measures, including unemployment insurance benefits, COBRA health subsidies, and Medicare physician payments. (Compare to the House jobs bill here and the first Senate jobs bill here.)
None of these costs are offset, however, given that bill designates all provisions (except for the Medicare physician pay patch) as emergency requirements -- rendering them no longer subject to PAYGO rules. Paying for the Medicare pay patch, or "doc fix," is waived because it adjusts a current policy, which were also exempted from PAYGO rules.
| Provision | 2010-2011 Cost (billions) | 2010-2020 Cost (billions) |
| Extension of Unemployment Insurance | $7.10 | $8.0 |
| Extension of COBRA Health Subsidies | $1.1 | $1.1 |
| Increase in Medicare Physician Payment Update | $1.0 | $1.0 |
| Other Spending Provisions | $0.1 | $0.1 |
| Total | $9.3 | $10.3 |
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