Clyburn: Not so fast on second stimulus

The No. 3 Democrat in the House on Wednesday threw cold water on the idea of a second, jobs-focused stimulus bill.

Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-S.C.) said that the party might not pursue specific legislation to accomplish its goals on employment, and might focus instead on front-loading spending in bills Democrats had previously planned to move.

"Now we are trying to get the economy stabilized and grow the economy," Clyburn said during an interview on MSNBC. "And that's what we're trying to do as we move forward, is to move in regular order.

"I don't think we need to do anything new, I don't think we need to do another stimulus package — all we need to do is move in regular order and do what we need to do for the country," Clyburn added.

Democrats have been mulling different options to promote job growth out of concern that the $787 billion stimulus bill passed earlier this year wasn't narrowly targeted enough and hadn't created jobs as quickly as supporters had hoped.

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) told reporters on Tuesday that Democrats planned to move something on jobs by the time the House adjourns Dec. 18.

Clyburn said that a reauthorized transportation bill, "front-load[ed] in a way that we would get infrastructure done while creating jobs," could provide a jobs boost, as would an expansion of a summer jobs program.

On the Senate side, Democrats also hope to bring up some form of a jobs package, though it's unclear what it would look like or when it would happen, as the Senate is currently consumed with healthcare reform legislation.

---