Democratic Leaders to Bring Jobs Bill to Floor Monday
Senate Democratic leaders said Thursday that they will bring the first in a series of jobs-creation bills to the floor Monday and move quickly to complete it before the chamber adjourns for a weeklong recess.
Asked when he expected a final vote on the jobs package to occur, Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) told reporters: “Before we leave here a week from tomorrow.”
But Reid did not offer details of what would be in the package or how many jobs it might create. However, the measure could include a business hiring tax credit, short-term extensions of unemployment insurance and health benefits, an extension of the surface transportation authorization and extensions of economic stimulus programs.
Reid said Members from both parties would be briefed on the measure by Friday.
“This is a good faith offering on the Democratic side,” Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) said. “Let’s put these on the floor and move them with a sense of urgency.”