Even as slimmed down as it is, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s new jobs bill has provisions that construction officials like, but the $15-billion measure is much less generous to public works than the $154-billion version the House passed in December. With Democrats’ Senate majority no longer filibuster-proof and GOP votes hard to get, Reid faces a tough fight to get his bill approved.
The Nevada Democrat’s proposal, introduced Feb. 11, caught many off-guard because it came only hours after Senate Finance Committee leaders unveiled a bipartisan, $90-billion jobs package.