Jobs, jobs, jobs is the mantra of Washington policymakers, especially Democrats, who fear losing their own jobs if they don't do something and quick about the nation's unemployment problem.

Thus a bipartisan team of senators unveiled a jobs bill Thursday meant to demonstrate to voters that lawmakers are, indeed, doing something.

Experts and skeptics doubt the new bill will really create jobs, jobs, jobs. But, again, in politics it's often the appearance of action more than its effectiveness that wins elections.

So what's in the $85 billion jobs bill? What's in the bill now isn't necessarily likely to be in the final version when it's all said and done since Sen. Harry Reid, the Senate majority leader, says he wants to rewrite it to focus it more on job creation. The bill unveiled by Sen. Max Baucus, a Montana Democrat and chair of the Senate Finance Commitee, and Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa who's the panel's top Republican, contained small business tax breaks but also a whole lot of language unrelated to job creation.

As The Hill reports:

The bill now include(s) four components: tax credits for employers who hire new workers; a provision allowing businesses to write off the cost of capital investments; Build America Bonds, which allow state and local governments to lower their borrowing costs; and a one-year extension of funding for transportation programs in the Surface Transportation Act.

 

Politico.com has the following about some parts of the bill that aren't about job creation:

The bill includes an infusion of funds into the Highway Trust Fund, the so-called doc fix for Medicare reimbursements and an extension of unemployment insurance and other benefits for the jobless.

It also includes several provisions outside the panel's jurisdiction, like a reauthorization of the USA Patriot Act, the national flood insurance program and $1.5 billion in agriculture disaster assistance.

Democrats weren't pleased with the parts of the legislation that weren't directly jobs related which is why Reid planned to revise it.

More from The Hilll:

"I would prefer a jobs bill that simply focused on job-creating initiatives; this bill has become something more than that," said Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.), who led early negotiations to produce a jobs bill. "Maybe that's what has to be done in order to get some bipartisan support."

If the White House had any doubts with the bill containing features that weren't about job creation, it didn't betray them in the statement from President Barack Obama it issued:

"The President is gratified to see the Senate moving forward in a bipartisan manner on steps to help put Americans back to work. The draft bill released today by Senators Baucus and Grassley includes several of the President's top priorities for job creation, including a tax incentive to encourage businesses to hire, a tax cut to make it easier for small businesses to invest and expand, further measures to keep people at work repairing our nation's roads and bridges, and extended unemployment insurance and health care assistance for Americans who are out of work.

"The American people want to see Washington put aside partisan differences and make progress on jobs. The House has already passed a constructive set of measures and the President is hopeful that the draft language presented today will lead to a bipartisan Senate bill. The President looks forward to working with members from both parties on this bill and on the additional job creation measures he has identified, including incentives for energy efficiency investments and increased access to credit for small businesses."

Meanwhile, the Associated Press reports that experts doubt the legislation will actually lead to the creation of jobs:

The bill includes tax cuts to please Republicans and its passage would hand President Barack Obama a badly needed political victory.

But even the Obama administration acknowledges the legislation's centerpiece - a tax cut for businesses that hire unemployed workers - would work only on the margins.

Tax experts and business leaders said companies are unlikely to hire workers just to receive a tax break. Before businesses start hiring, they need increased demand for their products, more work for their employees and more revenue to pay those workers.

"We're skeptical that it's going to be a big job creator," said Bill Rys, tax counsel for the National Federation of Independent Business. "There's certainly nothing wrong with giving a tax break to a business that's hired a new worker, especially in these tough times. But in terms of being an incentive to hire a lot of workers, we're skeptical."