WASHINGTON - US House of Representatives on Friday voted to pass the full-year extension of the payroll tax cut and jobless benefits for the long-term unemployed.

The GOP-led lower chamber of Congress passed the bill extending a 2-percentage-point payroll tax cut for 160 million Americans and jobless insurance for millions of long-term unemployed in a vote of 293-132.

The passage cleared a key legislative hurdle before it is signed into law by US President Barack Obama. The US Senate on Friday passed the bill within one hour after it sailed through the lower chamber. The bill is on the way to Obama's desk.

The White House said on Thursday that Obama would sign the bill into law as soon as Congress passes the measure.

The bill could avoid a payroll tax increase for Americans on March 1, renewing unemployment benefits for the long-term unemployed as well as averting a steep cut in Medicare doctors' fees.

The agreement represents a victory for Obama and his fellow Democrats, who have argued that payroll tax cut for Americans could provide a boost to the anemic economic recovery. Republican lawmakers also have reason to welcome the deal, as it gets a politically troubling issue off the table.

With public approval rating for Congress at a record low, US House Speaker John Boehner, the top GOP congressman, and his top GOP lieutenants announced Monday that they would not insist that the cost of the deal be offset with spending cuts elsewhere, averting another round of Beltway brinkmanship.