WASHINGTON — The Senate Tuesday night blocked President Barack Obama’s $447 billion jobs bill, despite the president’s continued travels across the country exhorting Congress to pass it.
The final official vote was 50-49, short of the 60 votes needed to surmount a filibuster, FOX News Channel reported.
After it became clear the bill was headed for certain defeat, Obama said Republican senators had intentionally obstructed the bill, despite a majority of senators voting to advance it.
“Even though this bill contains the kind of proposals Republicans have supported in the past, their party obstructed the Senate from moving forward on this jobs bill,” Obama said in a statement issued by the White House.
“Tonight’s vote is by no means the end of this fight. Independent economists have said that the American Jobs Act would grow the economy and lead to nearly two million jobs, which is why the majority of the American people support these bipartisan, common-sense proposals. And we will now work with Senator Reid to make sure that the individual proposals in this jobs bill get a vote as soon as possible,” he added, referring to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.).
“In the coming days, Members of Congress will have to take a stand on whether they believe we should put teachers, construction workers, police officers and firefighters back on the job. They’ll get a vote on whether they believe we should cut taxes for small business owners and middle-class Americans, or whether we should protect tax breaks for millionaires and billionaires.
“Because with so many Americans out of work and so many families struggling, we can’t take ‘no’ for an answer. Ultimately, the American people won’t take ‘no’ for an answer. It’s time for Congress to meet their responsibility, put their party politics aside and take action on jobs right now.”
The only Republican absent for the vote was Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.). His office announced earlier Tuesday that he has prostate cancer that will temporarily take him away from his duties.
Reid switched his vote to “no” at the last moment per Senate rules, so as to preserve the right to call the vote up again in the future for reconsideration.
After the vote House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) urged both parties to work together and reach an agreement on how to proceed, while accusing Senate Democrats of stalling on a number of job-creation measures.
“Nearly a month ago, Republicans outlined for President Obama possible areas of common ground on job creation,” Boehner said.
“Already this year the House has passed more than a dozen jobs bills that are now awaiting a vote in the Democratic-led Senate.
“American families and small businesses are struggling and they continue to ask the question: ‘where are the jobs?’ It’s long past time for both parties to work together on common-sense solutions to create a better environment for private-sector job creation.”
The rejection of the bill opens a new phase in the political battle over job creation, with the White House and Congress now planning to break up the legislation and try to pass parts of it in an effort to show they accomplished something to battle joblessness, The Wall Street Journal reported.
“Hopefully, this is the end of the political games, and hopefully it will also mean that the White House and the president will stop going out there demanding an all-or-nothing approach — ‘Pass this bill, or else,'” said House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.).
Democrats said Republican opposition to the bill was based solely on a desire to see Obama fail.
“The president’s plan contains many ideas that Republicans have supported consistently over the years,” said Reid. “I guess Republicans think if the economy improves it will help President Obama, so they oppose anything the president proposes.”
The vote was part of the jockeying by both parties to gain an edge on the jobs issue at a time of deep economic anxiety. The Senate also approved a bill that aims to punish China for undervaluing its currency — though the House and the Obama administration are unlikely to approve it.
Congress is also expected to enact free-trade agreements this week with South Korea, Panama and Colombia. Many members of both parties say the pacts would create jobs without raising taxes or cutting spending.
The jobs bill, which Obama introduced several weeks ago, includes elements such as an infrastructure bank, extension of a payroll tax break and tax breaks for companies that hire veterans. It also would let companies try out potential employees while they are receiving unemployment checks, and it would provide a tax credit for employers who hire anyone who has been out of a job for six months.
Republicans and some Democrats say the package isn’t an efficient way to create jobs long-term, and they oppose the tax increases that Obama proposed to pay for the bill. Senate Democrats replaced those proposed tax increases with a 5.6 percent surtax on those making $1 million a year or more.