Reid: Senate Will Hold October Vote On Obama's Jobs Bill

The Democratic leader of the Senate disclosed Monday that his chamber will move this month on President Obama’s jobs package.

Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) made his proclamation during a brief speech on the floor today.

After announcing that the Senate will vote on a trio of free-trade bills, Reid declared that “the Senate will also take up President Obama’s American Jobs Act this month.”

He went on to say that the legislation takes a “common-sense, bipartisan approach” to reducing the nation’s 9.1% unemployment rate.

In the roughly four weeks since Obama presented his $447 billion plan to a joint session of Congress, the White House has been forced to address the question of when the bill would see action in either the House or Senate.

Republicans last week criticized Reid and other top Democrats for scheduling a vote on alleged Chinese currency manipulation ahead of the jobs bill, which the president promoted heavily during a series of campaign-style events across the country last month.

Meanwhile, the number two Republican in the House declared Monday that the complete jobs package has no chance of clearing the lower chamber. Instead, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) told reporters that he’ll likely move on certain elements of the bill, such as extending payroll tax cuts for employees.