The one sour note came on Wednesday when Representative Barney Frank, Democrat of Massachusetts, angrily accused House Republican leaders of stealing a bill written by a Democrat, Representative Jim Himes of Connecticut, and giving it to a Republican, Representative Ben Quayle of Arizona.

After Representative Jeb Hensarling, Republican of Texas, said Democrats were too concerned about credit, Mr. Frank accused him of issuing “the most hypocritical and dishonest statement” he had “ever heard uttered in this House.” The words were stricken from the official record.

The jobs legislation is narrowly tailored, even though it is being praised by all sides as a big help to the economy. The centerpiece would delay some Securities and Exchange Commission regulations that were passed as a response to the recession and would create a category of “emerging growth companies” that would lower the costs of initial public offerings for smaller firms.

Another measure would abolish an S.E.C. rule that prohibits small companies from advertising for investors, a ban that dates to 1982. The bill would also lift restrictions on “crowd funding,” which would let entrepreneurs raise capital from large pools of small investors. And the JOBS Act would increase the number of shareholders permitted to invest in a community bank to 2,000, from 500.

The 23 members who voted against the bill were mostly from the most liberal wing of the Democratic Party, and they expressed concern that the bill went too far in dismantling regulations that were intended to protect investors.

But for most, the imperative was to be seen as doing something about the recovering, but still anemic, job market.

Representative Shelley Moore Capito, Republican of West Virginia, said: “I think there’s a huge sense of frustration with everybody, regardless of party. Nothing’s getting done on the most significant issue facing them.” She said lawmakers would say that their votes were not about the election, but, she added, “Obviously you turn the corner in an election year.”