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The federal stimulus bill in Congress could create a lot of jobs in Washington state, but the number might be shrinking. Or not. Here's an assessment from Les Blumenthal in McClatchy Newspapers’ Washington, D.C., bureau.

WASHINGTON — So the White House says its version of the stimulus bill, or as Democrats now call it the recovery bill, will create or save 79,000 jobs in Washington state. In a state-by-state breakdown, the administration said 90 percent of those jobs will be in the private sector.

Last week, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the House version of the bill would create or save nearly 100,000 jobs and shave 2 percentage points off the state's current 7.