Last month, the House passed the Jobs for Main Street Act and Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act as amendments to the Senate-passed FY 2010 Commerce-Justice-Science appropriations bill (H.R. 2847). (The final version of the Commerce-Justice-Science spending legislation, which was part of the FY 2010 omnibus appropriations package, did not contain the jobs and PAYGO provisions.) The Jobs for Main Street Act calls for redirecting $75 billion from the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) to fund infrastructure projects, help states support education and law enforcement jobs, and provide for a six-month extension of unemployment benefits, among other spending initiatives.

Hoyer acknowledged that working with the Senate will be essential to accomplishing these goals since the House has already passed a jobs package and PAYGO language.

"Creating jobs is priority number one," the majority leader remarked. "At the same time, however, we must deal effectively with our exploding debt."

When asked about the Democrats' plan for dealing with the Bush-era tax cuts set to expire at year's end, Hoyer responded that his caucus is committed to extending the tax breaks for middle-income families. Democrats also will push for final passage of financial regulatory reform legislation, he said. Speaking on the prospect of passing a health care reform bill in one form or another this year, Hoyer said that Democratic leaders are gathering feedback from their members and examining the messages sent by voters in Massachusetts.

"This year, we will also work hard to enact legislation to build our energy independence and create clean-energy jobs," Hoyer added.