Reid's New Jobs Bill Faces Backlash

By: Stephanie Condon
Topics: Economy

(AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said today the he decided to scrap the bipartisan jobs legislation unveiled yesterday in favor of a leaner bill because "the American people need a message."

The message that they need is that we're doing something about jobs," he told reporters today. "We don't have a jobs bill, we have a jobs agenda. We're going to move forward on that jobs agenda."

Reid may have to get that message across to the rest of Congress before he can to the American people, however.

Sen. Chuck Grassley, the Republican who along with Democratic Sen. Max Baucus crafted the initial jobs bill, said Reid was "pulling the rug out" from bipartisan efforts, the Hill reports.

"Senator Reid's announcement sends a message that he wants to go partisan and blame Republicans when Senator Grassley and others were trying to find common ground on solutions to help get the economy back on track and people back to work," said Jill Kozeny, a spokesperson for Grassley.

Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch (Utah) said Reid's decision was "surprising."

"This is not how you legislate in the United States Senate and demonstrates a tremendous arrogance of power by this Democrat majority," he said in a statement.

Democrats like Sen. Dianne Feinstein (Calif.) and Tom Harkin (Iowa) also expressed reservations about the new plan, according to Politico.

"[Reid's] trying to keep it simple," Harkin said, "but what I think ought to be in the package is unemployment insurance for one year."

Republicans in the House also took the opportunity to knock Reid for his decision. The office of Republican Whip Eric Cantor (Va.) is referring to the new bill as the "Reid scraps bill."

Still, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs said today at the White House press briefing, "I think that the legislation that Senator Reid will move when the Senate comes back into town will garner bipartisan support."

Stephanie Condon
Stephanie Condon is a political reporter for CBSNews.com.
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by TardiveZoar February 15, 2010 3:31 AM EST: Take a look at the picture is that a leader you can trust?; Reply to this comment

by jgg000101 February 14, 2010 4:51 PM EST

harry will need a new job in november

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by jxknowles February 14, 2010 10:17 PM EST: Harry will be hired as a lobbyist. For more money than he's making now, plus a better healthcare package. That's how it works chump.


by Imadinnerjacket February 14, 2010 12:16 PM EST: If Reid and Pelosi were on a ball team.. they'd both get cut...; Reply to this comment


by jxknowles February 13, 2010 8:57 PM EST: Is Stephanie Condon a gossip columnist or just a trashy person? Ms. Condon, please try to write an article where you report facts and inform your readers. Your article is the height of irresponsibility and lowest form of creative writing. You definitely cannot be called a journalist. You did not inform. You did not research your story and you did not list sources. Those are the least of the problems with your article. You also FAILED to give the reader what differences in the bill Leader Reid objected to. Yes, Ms Condom, You get a F minus for shoddy, lazy and childlike work. The research efforts were also lame. I hope your boss is paying attention.; Reply to this comment


by gboyd41 February 13, 2010 3:12 PM EST: Reid, is he a leader, or WHAT?; Reply to this comment


by bradkt1 February 13, 2010 2:22 PM EST: Too little, too late from Reid. He should have done a lot more than this a long time ago. Now, he just looks silly and his timing is such that he is allowing Republicans to credibly claim that he is being partisan, when the fact is that people like Grassley had no intention of being bipartisan in the first place. Reid is a terrible leader in the Senate...one of the worst that I have ever seen. He definitely needs to be defeated for reelection...and I am saying this as a Democrat.; Reply to this comment


by wmb1957 February 13, 2010 12:20 PM EST: The "new Harry Ried job bill" just grabbed some parts out of the bipartisan bill and says they can vote on other job creation items later.

Later isn't good enough. This needs to be done now and should have been taken care of months ago. There was to much focus on "health care reform" that frankly we can't afford until enough of us have jobs to pay for it.

The progressive left Democrats did not like the bipartisan bill, so Ried trashes it and we do without jobs.

The progressive left criticized the extension of expired tax breaks as not related to jobs. Those same tax breaks were extended by the House in their jobs bill that passed. That wasn't criticized as not related to jobs.; Reply to this comment


by erichsh February 13, 2010 11:07 AM EST: Interesting that this story of Democratic arrogance and in-your-face partisanship was buried in a blog here, and not a headline. Now Sarah Palin writing on her hand - that's big news!; Reply to this comment


by stormerF2 February 13, 2010 9:15 AM EST: The new Harry Reid job bill is A good bill,with no Pork and structured job creations. The only problem is there is 511 Billion unspent of the Stimulis bill that was going to create jobs. Why not Re-look the spending of those billions and use that money to create jobs,and not the wasteful projected pork jobs some of which it has already funded???; Reply to this comment

by hillarynow February 13, 2010 3:57 AM EST

The Republicans are bent on the complete and utter destruction of America all just so they can seize power and control, that is how blatantly arrogant ans self serving they seriously are. They would rather destroy America than work with the Democrats to put Americans back to work.

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by stormerF2 February 13, 2010 9:20 AM EST: Why is it always the Republicans? when the Dimocrats have had control of congress and the Senate for the last 4 that is four years? From 2006 till 2008 they pasted 2 bills one was to buy Union votes and the other was Cowboy Day ,At least One was something to be enjoyed.