Democratic Leaders to Meet Thursday With Obama
House and Senate Democratic leaders will huddle with President Barack Obama on Thursday morning to discuss the administration’s legislative agenda.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) and Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) will meet with Obama in the Oval Office.
The meeting will be largely focused on jobs but “definitely not health care,” according to a White House aide.
Senate Democrats are expected to bring a relatively modest jobs bill to the floor later this week or early next week. The House, meanwhile, appears to be waiting on Senate action before moving on the issue.
The Senate bill will likely include a one-year extension of the Highway Trust Fund, an extension of the Build America Bonds program, a handful of small-business tax credits and, possibly, a bipartisan proposal to suspend payroll taxes for businesses that hire the unemployed. Extensions of unemployment benefits and health insurance portability are also possible.