–Senate Majority Leader: Currency Bill Needed For China FX Reform
–Sen. Reid: Senate To Vote On Currency, Then Jobs Bills
–Senate Minority Leader McConnell Hammers Dems ‘Second Stimulus’ Bill
–Sen. McConnell: Dems Don’t Expect or Want Obama Jobs Plan To Pass

By John Shaw

WASHINGTON (MNI) – Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said Tuesday
the Senate should pass later in the day a currency bill that is
directed at China.

In comments on the Senate floor, Reid said the currency bill is
needed to persuade China to stop “unjustly tilting the playing field” by
manipulating its currency.

Reid said it is “pretty clear by now” that China is manipulating
its currency and this is costing hundreds of thousands of American jobs.

The Senate will vote Tuesday evening at 5:30 p.m. on passage of a
currency bill that is directed at China.

Based on two procedural votes held last week, the bill seems poised
to pass the Senate easily.

House Speaker John Boehner has called the legislation “dangerous”
and is very unlikely to schedule a House vote on the bill.

Reid said that after the Senate votes Tuesday evening on the China
currency bill, it will hold a procedural vote to formally begin debate
on President Obama’s $447 billion jobs package as modified by Senate
Democratic leaders to levy a 5.6% surtax on household income about $1
million.

Reid strongly urged Senate passage of the motion to begin debating
the president’s jobs bill.

Speaking after Reid, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell blasted
the president’s jobs plan as a “second stimulus bill.”

“It’s hard to overstate the importance of this vote,” McConnell
said, adding that he expects the Senate to skuttle the Obama’s jobs
plan.

McConnell said Senate Democrats neither expect or even want Obama’s
jobs plan to pass, but seek to use it as a political weapon in next
year’s election.

He said bipartisan work should begin on jobs legislation.

McConnell said he expects the Senate to pass Wednesday the pending
U.S pending bilateral trade agreements between the U.S. and Panama,
Colombia, and South Korea.

The House is also expected to pass the three trade bills Wednesday.

** Market News International Washington Bureau: (202) 371-2121 **

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