Senate rejects slimmed-down Obama jobs bill

US President Barack Obama greets a crowd before speaking about jobs and economy at the West Wilkes High School in Millers Creek, North Carolina, on October 17, 2011 during the first day of his three-day American Jobs Act bus tour to discuss jobs and the economy. / JEWEL SAMAD/AFP/Getty Images

WASHINGTON - Despite a campaign-style push this week by President Barack Obama, the Senate on Thursday scuttled pared-back jobs legislation aimed at helping state and local governments avoid layoffs of teachers and firefighters.

Obama's three-day bus tour through North Carolina and Virginia — states crucial to his re-election race next year — didn't change any minds among Senate Republicans, who killed Obama's latest jobs measure with delaying tactics just as they killed his broader $447 billion jobs plan last week.

Thursday's $35 billion measure combined $30 billion for state and local governments to hire teachers and other school workers with $5 billion to help pay the salaries of police officers, firefighters and other first responders. The White House says the measure would "support" almost 400,000 education jobs for one year. Republicans call that a temporary "sugar high" for the economy.

Despite the negative vote, Obama and his Democratic allies are acting like they've found a winning issue in repeatedly pressing popular ideas such as infrastructure spending and boosting hiring of police officers and firefighters. The sluggish economy and lower tax revenues have caused many teachers' jobs to be cut over the past several years.

After the failure of the jobs measure last week, Democrats vowed to try to resurrect it on a piece by piece basis, even though the strategy doesn't seem to have any better chance of success. But Democrats are trying to win a political advantage through repeated votes.

They're also pressing for passage of a poll-tested financing mechanism — a surcharge on income exceeding $1 million.

An AP-GfK poll taken Oct. 13-17 found 62 percent of respondents favoring the surcharge as a way to pay for jobs initiatives. Just 26 percent opposed the idea.

Republicans say the president is more interested in picking political fights with them than seeking compromise. Still, they don't seem to be afraid of a politically weakened Obama. Not a single Republican backed the president in last week's vote

At the same time, several Democrats opposed the underlying measure, even though they voted in favor of at least allowing debate to begin.

And Sen. Joe Lieberman, an independent, said the stimulus-style jobs bill spends money the country doesn't have and takes revenues away from a special "supercommittee" charged with cutting the deficit by at least $1.2 trillion over the coming decade.

According to the AP-GfK poll, Obama's party has lost the faith of the public on handling the economy. In the new poll, only 38 percent said they trust Democrats to do a better job than Republicans in handling the economy, the first time Democrats have fallen below 40 percent in the poll. Some 43 percent trust the Republicans more.

White House Press Secretary Jay Carney, speaking the day after Obama returned from bus tour, said the president's plan has the advantage of providing an immediate kick to the economy.

Republicans want to roll back government regulations that they say choke job growth. They backed free-trade pacts with South Korea, Colombia and Panama that were ratified this month. They also back extending tax breaks for businesses that buy new equipment and favor offering a $4,800 tax credit to companies that hire veterans.

Democrats and the White House, meanwhile, are confident that other elements of Obama's larger jobs bill, including extending cuts in federal Social Security payroll taxes, will pass. A 2 percentage point payroll tax cut enacted last year expires at the end of the year. Obama has proposed cutting it by an additional percentage point and extending the cut to the first $5 million of a company's payroll.

[Jesse_engAmer]

When a bipartisan Senate shuts a bill down, one cannot simply blame Republicans. It also wouldn't be as successful, if it is successful at all, as Obama likes to promote.
"Only one of the two economists cited by the White House actually claims that the president's bill could create "nearly 2 million jobs."
More importantly, both are at the high end of job-creation estimates. Bloomberg News surveyed 34 economists to gauge the impact of the president's jobs bill. Of those, 28 economists estimated how many jobs would be created by the bill. The median estimate was 275,000 jobs in 2012 and 13,000 jobs in 2013 for a total of 288,000 jobs — far fewer than the 2 million claimed by the president." http://eng.am/qM1myt

[fxr60]

It is a fact that came out that Obama recieved more money from wallstreet backers and millionaires and billionaires than ANY president in over 20+ years! Yet, he blasts them every chance he gets! What a hypocrite!! I think I would want my $35,000 dollar a plate dinner expense back if I was one of those "bad old millionaires that fly around in corporate jets" to go to his dinners!!! What can you expect from a president that constantly lies! Lied about Rev. Wright, transparency and Miss Scott uncovered in her book about Obama and his mother-he LIED about his mother not having insurance and found out she was FULLY COVERED by her employers insurance! Snopes has him at 50 lies told and Poltics.com has him at 49 and 37 half truths! Just last week he lied about talking to a school teacher that couldn't find a job, and when a reporter talk to the teacher he said he DID NOT talk to Obama personally, was in the room where he was but NO conversation with him and that he DID have a job! Geezee Get this idiot out of the White House!!!!

[fxr60]

Obama's job bill is just another stimulus bill that doesn't work and he knew it when he came out with it, even several democrats did NOT like it, that's why the democratic controlled congress voted it down! He knew it would not pass and that way he can "crybaby" talk about how everyone is against it! Mortimer Zuckerman, long time Democratic supporter says Obama doesn't seem to care about the people and that is why the economy is on the brink of a "potential catastrophic" collapse.Zuckerman reports that among Dems. "The sense is that the policies of this goverment have failed". Look at the money Obama has wasted-$535 MILLION of taxpayers money on Solyndra and he was told by his OWN people that was a bad investment, but he went ahead with it because these people gave him money for his campaign and voted for him and it was "Payback" time. Now Sun power will cost us $1.5 Million for the same reasons when they go under as reported they will soon. Obama wants to give money for votes or favors-let him give his OWN money and NOT the taxpayers money!!!

[mountainstates1]

These Republicans have got to GO! Obama has bent over backwards trying to compromise with a group of thugs whose only goal is to see he is not re-elected. In the meanwhile the country can go to hell, according to the GOP.

[USA_is_back_]

It's Obama that will go in 2012. Even Senate Democrats voted against this baby stimulus. So what does that tell us about this desperate attempt to waste more money so he can have a job after 2012?
Obama is such a Chicago sleaze!!!

[noloyalisti]

It's pretty obvious that all those US senators are bought and paid for by the millionaires and billionaires. And keep voting against the will of the American people.

I hope they are all out on the streets (actually they will all be millionaire corporate lobbyists) after the next election. Spread their names around everywhere you can and tell a friend.

[mountainstates1]

Amen! No more GOP!

[USA_is_back_]

Obama's hairbrain jobs bill is getting so wittled down that it will be as skinny as he is if it ever makes it to his desk for him to sign.
Your spending spree is over Barry!

[USA_is_back_]

You are a "Dummy" fool!
Har!
Are you going to post something of substance today or just stay in attack mode and troll after me all day?
You obviously never really have anything of value to say when you post here. You just attack other posters all the time.

[Socialization]

I am glad that the democrats in the senate joined the Republican Minority blocking this bill.

This was nothing more than a political campaign money laundering scheme. It works like this, The Dems give billion to the states to pay the teachers, the teachers unions donate million back to the Dem candidates.

End of story.......

I mean according to Harry Reid, the problem with unemployment is Government Jobs, The Private Sector is doing fine.

I mean anyone that follows or believes this moron is an imbecile.

[suesbees]

Socialization, you are the imbecile. Your hateful butt knows that saying no all the time is not the way to run this country. When the republicans were in charge they never did anything for anybody but the rich. They are greedy and power hungry. You should keep your stupid opinions to yourself because what you wish for others will come back to you.

[IndependentinNH]

You just don't get it. Bush and Obama did what they could to keep the financial collapse from becoming a depression. And for now, they succeeded. That is why the private sector is doing OK. Not fine. But OK. And that was after shedding millions of jobs.

[IndependentinNH]

Dear House and Senate Republicans, get off of your high horses before you fall.

[Progress4USA]

by chevyhotrod October 21, 2011 9:49 AM EDT
It is a tax and spend bill, not a jobs bill. People like you think you can put a different label on it and the sheep will just follow, well I guess in some cases you might be correct, because people like you fall for it.
----
So chevy...what's your plan to get 14 million +++ back to work??? Hmmm... Another tax break to the fat cats who sit on the money???

Come clean...this is all about getting rid of Pres Obama, right!?!?!?

[credibility2]

This all or nothing moronic mentality is marginalizing attempts to try and accomplish something by both parties. It's interesting that this latest antic is yet another attempt to distract the taxpayers from another Obama stimulus scandal, Fisker Auto. More lies, fraud, and deception. Taxpayers are again on the lamb for over $500M, just like they were for Solyndra. Why isn't mainstream media reporting this, other than ABC?