After Disclose Act defeat, Reid tries again with outsourcing bill

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said he hopes to advance a bill on Thursday that would encourage companies to bring jobs back to the United States, and remove current tax breaks for outsourcing jobs overseas.

But it's already unclear whether the Senate can make any progress on the outsourcing bill. Reid indicated that there is enough Republican opposition to it that he is being forced to set up a procedural vote on the bill Thursday, setting up the prospect that the Senate will spend the week debating two major bills without making any headway on either.

"Once again, I'm disappointed, as I think most people in this country are, on an issue as timely as this, outsourcing jobs, that we once again are being stymied in moving to that legislation," Reid said on the floor about GOP opposition.

"To get to final action on this is going to take a week," he added. "That's so unfortunate that we have to go through this. And we've gone through this so many times."

Reid spoke after Republicans prevented the Senate from advancing a campaign finance transparency bill, after two days of debate. Moments later, Reid filed a motion to end debate on a motion to proceed to the outsourcing bill — a vote on that motion will happen by Thursday at the latest.

Cloture motions such as these usually indicate that the minority party would not agree to a unanimous consent request to consider the bill.

The Bring the Jobs Home Act, from Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), would create a new tax credit for companies that spend money to bring overseas jobs back to the United States, and eliminate a tax credit for companies that spend money to move jobs overseas.

"It is absolutely critical that we move to this bill and that we pass it," Stabenow said on the Senate floor.

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