Senate Democrats are scrambling to put together a jobs package that can win enough bipartisan support to pass as early as next week.
Sen. Majority Leader Harry Reid offered only a vague outline and no price tag on legislation that he said would help small businesses create more jobs, improve the nation’s infrastructure and make homes and businesses more energy efficient.
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“We will have a vote on a jobs bill this Monday,” Reid said.
But Senate Democrats now lack control of the 60 votes needed to block a Republican filibuster, which means any proposal they put forward will require at least one GOP senator to go along.
Republicans have been noncommittal so far, but many already oppose some of the ideas put forward, such as federal grants for school construction, as well as Democratic ideas for how to pay for the package. Democrats want to use some of the money left over from the $700 billion bank bailout, but Republicans say those excess funds should be used to pay down the debt.
Don Stewart, the spokesman for Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said in a statement after Reid’s announcement, “They don’t know what’s in the bill or how many jobs they expect it to ‘save or create,’ or when anyone beyond the Beltway will see it, or how much it will cost.”
Democrats on Thursday handed out an agenda of what they want to include in the legislation and topping the list is a proposal to offer a tax credit to employers who hire new workers in 2010. The list also included streamlining the loan program for small businesses and the creation of a small-business lending pool.
“We are going to have to focus on letting more entrepreneurs do their thing,” Reid said.
But the agenda also include billions of dollars for infrastructure investments, direct aid to local governments, school infrastructure improvements and transportation investments.
An entire section of the proposal is titled “Creating jobs through energy efficiency.” It calls for grants and rebates for energy-efficient renovations on affordable housing, homes and businesses.
While Reid has not indicated how much the bill would cost, it is expected to be much less expensive than the House-passed $174 billion jobs package, which diverts $75 billion in funds from the bank bailout for infrastructure improvements.
Senate Democrats are aiming for a much smaller bill that can lure in Republicans who are eager to pass provisions aimed at helping small businesses.
The small-business tax cut, for example, is co-sponsored by Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah.
“The bottom line is this is a good faith offering on the Democratic side,” Senate Majority Whip Richard Durbin, D-Ill., said. “We are inviting our friends on the Republican side to join us, bring your best ideas forward and let’s put these on the floor and move them with a sense of urgency.”
