Senate approves R&D tax credit

A research-and-development tax credit is one step closer to the president's desk, following Tuesday's Senate vote on a jobless benefits package.

Lawmakers approved their collection of tax extenders on a 62-36 vote late Tuesday, including a one-year continuation of the much-beloved R&D break. That means only the House now stands in the way of a tax credit that tech insiders have aggressively lobbied Congress to reinstate since it expired at the end of 2009. Technology trade groups estimated this month that the loss of that R&D credit forced the industry to shed 20,000 jobs and $2.5 billion in economic gains, and deprived the federal government of more than $2 billion in revenue.