By Jesse Liebman --
February 4, 2010
In an effort to demonstrate to Americans that they are focused on eliminating massive unemployment, Senate Democrats on Thursday unveiled a package of legislation designed to foster job growth.
The Democratic jobs plan initially will involve extending a tax incentive to employers to reward them for hiring new workers. The details of the credit are expected to be finalized in the coming days by Sen. Max Baucus, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, but a bipartisan proposal offered by Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-NY) and Sen. Orrin Hatch (R- Utah) is under consideration.
Senate Democrats would like to put forward a "robust" jobs package, similar to a bill approved in December by the House, which would spend $174 billion, including $75 billion taken from the financial bailout program, and use it for job creation efforts including highway construction, school renovation and hiring of new teachers, police officers and firefighters.
But the plan should not be mistaken for a second stimulus package. With a massive congressional election in the fall, Senate Democrats are wary of passing a package with a large price tag.
Senate majority leader Harry Reid (D-NV) said Thursday that
while he hoped to have a vote on a tax-credit bill as early as next week, it
remained unclear whether the measure would draw significant GOP support.
"It appears to me that on a jobs program, they want to work with us," Reid said.
