The president's jobs plan failed to get approval in the Senate last week as a whole package, and Reid announced earlier this week that he would bring up the stimulus call for a vote as soon as possible.

"The massive layoffs we have had in America today, of course, are rooted in the last administration, and it is very clear that private sector jobs are doing just fine. It's the public sector jobs where we have lost huge numbers, and that's what this legislation is all about," he said.