WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Tax breaks for hiring workers and highway funding figure prominently in a jobs-creation bill that is on a possible Senate fast-track, according to lawmakers and a draft of the legislation obtained by Reuters.

The bill, likely to be less costly and more bipartisan than the one passed by the House of Representatives, also extends unemployment benefits and postpones a scheduled 20 percent cut in payments to doctors under the Medicare health insurance program for the elderly.

The Senate legislation, which has yet to be formally introduced, faces more than the usual procedural hurdles as a record snowstorm has paralyzed Washington and made it difficult for many lawmakers to get to work.

“We really need to finish the bill this week (and) I hope that we can,” Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid said on the floor of the chamber after he and others met with President Barack Obama at the White House.

WASHINGTON, Feb 9 (Reuters) – Tax breaks for hiring workers and highway funding figure prominently in a jobs-creation bill that is on a possible Senate fast-track, according to lawmakers and a draft of the legislation obtained by Reuters.

The bill, likely to be less costly and more bipartisan than the one passed by the House of Representatives, also extends unemployment benefits and postpones a scheduled 20 percent cut in payments to doctors under the Medicare health insurance program for the elderly.

The Senate legislation, which has yet to be formally introduced, faces more than the usual procedural hurdles as a record snowstorm has paralyzed Washington and made it difficult for many lawmakers to get to work.

“We really need to finish the bill this week (and) I hope that we can,” Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid said on the floor of the chamber after he and others met with President Barack Obama at the White House.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama pitched job-creation plans to recession-weary Americans on Tuesday while his advisers urged Congress to take further measures to rein in the record budget deficit.

Even as he unveiled a $30 billion scheme to boost small-business lending, Obama acknowledged the need for restraint, warning that record deficits could threaten the economic recovery.

“These deficits won’t just burden our kids and our grandkids decades from now,” Obama said in the politically competitive state of New Hampshire. “They could damage our markets now, they could drive up our interest rates now, they could jeopardize our recovery right now.”

The divergent messages reflected the challenge Obama faces as he promotes the $3.8 billion budget he proposed on Monday combining short-term job-creation plans with long-term austerity measures to head off a potential debt crisis.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Senate Democratic leaders unveiled a long-awaited “jobs agenda” on Thursday but said they would solicit Republican support before determining which elements to bring up for a vote next week.

With a nervous eye on the November congressional elections, Democrats say their top priority this year will be bringing down the nation’s double-digit unemployment rate.

But with their supermajority gone after a surprise defeat in Massachusetts last month, Senate Democrats need at least some Republican support to get any of their ideas passed.

“We want to work with Republicans, and it appears to me on the jobs program that they want to work with us,” Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said at a news conference.

WASHINGTON, Feb 4 (Reuters) – The U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday voted to increase the government’s borrowing authority to $14.3 trillion, sending the measure to President Barack Obama to sign into law.

By a vote of 233 to 187, the House voted to raise the nation’s debt limit by $1.9 trillion, which will probably allow lawmakers to avoid revisiting the politically toxic issue before November congressional elections.

The Senate passed the bill last week. No Republicans voted for the measure in either chamber.

Mindful of a growing voter backlash over government spending, Democrats crafted the legislation to require that new spending be offset elsewhere in the budget.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The House of Representatives on Thursday voted to increase the government’s borrowing authority to $14.3 trillion, sending the measure to President Barack Obama to sign into law.

By a vote of 233 to 187, the House voted to raise the nation’s debt limit by $1.9 trillion, which will probably allow lawmakers to avoid revisiting the politically toxic issue before November congressional elections.

The Senate passed the bill last week. No Republicans voted for the measure in either chamber.

Mindful of a growing voter backlash over government spending, Democrats crafted the legislation to require that new spending be offset elsewhere in the budget.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – With a nervous eye on the November congressional elections, Senate Democrats will unveil tax credits and other proposals on Thursday that aim to bring down the nation’s double-digit unemployment rate.

The package will include tax credits to spur hiring and equipment purchases, along with incentives for states to ramp up construction projects, an aide said on Wednesday.

It could also extend soon-to-expire programs that provide unemployment aid and healthcare subsidies for the jobless, the aide said on condition of anonymity.

With Friday’s jobs report expected to show a rise in the unemployment rate to 10.1 percent, Democrats in Congress say job creation is their top priority this year.

WASHINGTON, Feb 3 (Reuters) – With a nervous eye on the November congressional elections, U.S. Senate Democrats will unveil tax credits and other proposals on Thursday that aim to bring down the nation’s double-digit unemployment rate.

The package will include tax credits to spur hiring and equipment purchases, along with incentives for states to ramp up construction projects, an aide said on Wednesday.

It could also extend soon-to-expire programs that provide unemployment aid and healthcare subsidies for the jobless, the aide said on condition of anonymity.

With Friday’s jobs report expected to show a rise in the unemployment rate to 10.1 percent, Democrats in Congress say job creation is their top priority this year.

WASHINGTON, Feb 3 (Reuters) – With a nervous eye on the November congressional elections, U.S. Senate Democrats will unveil tax credits and other proposals on Thursday that aim to bring down the nation’s double-digit unemployment rate. The package will include tax credits to spur hiring and equipment purchases, along with incentives for states to ramp up construction projects, an aide said on Wednesday. It could also extend soon-to-expire programs that provide unemployment aid and healthcare subsidies for the jobless, the aide said on condition of anonymity. With Friday’s jobs report expected to show a rise in the unemployment rate to 10.1 percent, Democrats in Congress say job creation is their top priority this year. But they face a growing voter backlash for the aggressive spending measures they took last year to blunt the impact of the steepest recession in 70 years, so the Senate’s bill is not likely to carry as steep a price tag as a $155 billion package passed by the House of Representatives in December. Instead, the Senate is likely to pass several smaller, more targeted measures, Majority Leader Harry Reid said on Tuesday. The first could come up for a vote next week, Reid said. Reid will announce details of the legislation at 9:45 a.m. EST (1445 GMT) on Thursday, along with fellow Senate Democrats Dick Durbin, Max Baucus and Byron Dorgan. A price tag has not been set because the bill could change substantially when it comes up for a vote, the aide said. Major elements of the legislation include: * TAX CREDITS TO ENCOURAGE HIRING BY SMALL BUSINESSES President Barack Obama has proposed a payroll tax credit of up to $5,000 for every net new employee hired in 2010. In the Senate, Democrat Chuck Schumer and Republican Orrin Hatch would allow businesses to avoid paying Social Security taxes on some new hires for the remainder of 2010. It is unclear whether the jobs bill will adopt either of these approaches. Both could run into resistance from liberal Democrats who question their effectiveness. * TAX CREDITS TO ENCOURAGE INVESTMENT BY SMALL BUSINESSES Reid has suggested extending rules that allow small businesses to deduct more for equipment purchases. Obama has called for the elimination of all capital gains taxes on small business investment. It is unclear whether the Senate’s job package includes this approach. * ROAD CONSTRUCTION The Senate could shore up the dwindling Highway Trust Fund, which provides state and local governments about $40 billion a year for road and transit upgrades. Democratic Senator Barbara Boxer said last week that the Senate might provide enough money to ensure that the fund can operate through the end of the calendar year. That would probably be a more modest step than the $48.3 billion for construction passed by the House in December. * BUILD AMERICA BONDS The package could expand a taxable bond program that helps state and local government pay for big projects. Created as part of last year’s stimulus package, "Build America Bonds" give issuers a federal rebate equal to 35 percent of interest costs, making them very popular with issuers. The program expires at the end of this year, but Obama has proposed making it permanent and expanding it at a lower subsidy rate of 28 percent. * SAFETY-NET SPENDING Congress temporarily extended unemployment benefits and other safety-net programs that have helped people weather the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression of the 1930s. These programs, which also include food stamps and COBRA health-insurance subsidies for the jobless, will expire at the end of February and will likely have to be renewed again. (Editing by Doina Chiacu and Eric Walsh)

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama pitched job-creation plans to recession-weary Americans on Tuesday while his advisers urged Congress to take further measures to rein in the record budget deficit.

Even as he unveiled a $30 billion scheme to boost small-business lending, Obama acknowledged the need for restraint, warning that record deficits could threaten the economic recovery.

“These deficits won’t just burden our kids and our grandkids decades from now,” Obama said in the politically competitive state of New Hampshire. “They could damage our markets now, they could drive up our interest rates now, they could jeopardize our recovery right now.”

The divergent messages reflected the challenge Obama faces as he promotes the $3.8 billion budget he proposed on Monday combining short-term job-creation plans with long-term austerity measures to head off a potential debt crisis.