Reid urges quick action on Obama’s plan; other Nevadans slower to react

WASHINGTON -- Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., said Thursday he wanted quick action on President Barack Obama's package of tax cuts and spending to boost jobs, heeding the president's call for Congress to "pass this bill right away."

"These are common-sense solutions for getting our economy moving again and spurring hiring in the private sector," Reid, the Senate majority leader, said after Obama's speech to Congress.

Other Nevada lawmakers, however, were slower to offer opinions on the specifics that Obama laid out in his address.

Obama's $450 billion plan combined tax cuts for workers and businesses that hire with fresh spending to upgrade schools, roads, railways and airports. It would extend federal jobless benefits for a year while seeking reforms in the unemployment system.

The president said he would ask Congress through its deficit-reduction "supercommittee" to find a way to pay for the spending. If lawmakers fail to follow through, the plan would offset the cost by increasing taxes on American families earning more than $250,000, White House officials said.

"Every proposal I've laid out tonight is the kind that's been supported by Democrats and Republicans in the past," Obama said. "Every proposal I've laid out tonight will be paid for. And every proposal is designed to meet the urgent needs of our people and our communities."

Obama pressed the hard sell. Sixteen times in the half-hour speech he exhorted lawmakers to "pass this bill."

Reid said the Obama plan will serve as a litmus test whether Republicans are more interested in creating jobs than in seeing the president lose re-election.

"Americans are looking at us for leadership, and I hope Republicans join us in passing the president's bipartisan jobs plan as soon as possible," Reid said.

Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., was silent on the specifics of Obama's speech. She said in a statement that she was hopeful the speech would reset the debate over jobs and that the parties would "work together to get people back to work."

Sen. Dean Heller, R-Nev., said his preferred strategy involves closing "special interest loopholes in the tax code," passing a balanced budget amendment and "reining in excessive job-killing regulations"

But Obama indicated his job creation package wasn't going in those directions. Heller said he would "await the details of the president's plan."

Rep. Joe Heck, R-Nev., acknowledged there is GOP support for some of the ideas Obama offered, and "we should start by turning those ideas into law." In a statement, he did not specify which ones.

The most certain reaction came from Republican congressional hopeful Mark Amodei. He said he did not trust Obama.

"Unfortunately it sounds like more of the same: The devil's in the details, and so far we don't have them," said Amodei, who is running to fill the vacant House seat in the 2nd Congressional District.

"The president is asking the country and Congress to trust him and pass his proposal without any debate, or even a chance to review it first," Amodei said. "This is exactly what happened with Obamacare, and we cannot make the same mistake twice."

Kate Marshall, Nevada treasurer and a candidate for the 2nd Congressional District, said that if she's elected, she will work with the state's congressional delegation and across the aisle to pass a jobs bill that ensures Nevadans get back to work.

"We must end the billions in wasted tax subsidies and corporate loopholes to hedge fund managers and multinational corporations that ship jobs overseas," Marshall said. "Our tax policy should be used to motivate job creation, not to motivate an exodus of American jobs and help the super rich get richer. My philosophy is simple: Show me you created a job, and I will give you a tax cut."

Contact Stephens Washington Bureau Chief Steve Tetreault at stetreault@stephensmedia.com or 202-783-1760.