President Obama has been making various speeches calling for Republicans to pass his Jobs Bill, making it seem that Republicans were the ones standing in the way.
But as some media have reported, some Democrats have had issues with it too.
But more than that...Congress is going on a week's vacation - and when they come back the Democrats are going to work on some lil ol' problem with China first before they vote on Obama's jobs bill.
I would think that would not only infuriate Obama but also the whole jobless portion of the US populace. If this jobs bill is such a panacea, and if 16% or more of people are out of work, what right does Congress have to take yet another vacation before they vote on that bill?
Senate won't tackle Obama jobs plan right away
WASHINGTON — Despite early and regular pleas from the White House, Senate Democrats say they will not move immediately to take up President Obama's jobs bill when they return next week from a short recess.
"We'll get to that," Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said Monday night when asked if the likely passage of a temporary spending bill to keep the government functioning meant the Senate could now consider the president's package.
Given Obama's message of urgency, Reid's position has Republicans chortling that it is congressional Democrats who appear to be standing in the way of a quick vote on the president's plan.
Reid, who is sponsoring the package in the Senate, said Monday the Senate will first take up debate next week on a bill to punish China and other nations for currency manipulation.
"I don't think there's anything more important for a jobs measure than China trade, and that's what we're going to work on next week," he said.
Work on the Chinese measure has been on the back burner for months, and it has strong bipartisan support in the Senate, where leaders see it as a jobs-protection bill that has a good chance to pass.
The measure has been particularly championed by Democratic senators whose states have been hit hard by outsourcing and who will face tough re-election battles next year, including Sens. Sherrod Brown of Ohio and Debbie Stabenow of Michigan.
"We understand that there's conversations going on about the president's jobs bill, which I support, I'm in agreement with," Reid said. "We'll get to that. But let's get some of these things done that we have to get done first."
Consideration of the president's jobs plan, on the other hand, will probably be blocked by Senate Republicans. Once the whole package is put aside, Congress may move to consider pieces of the package such as a payroll tax cut, as Republicans have urged.
A senior Senate Democratic aide insisted the decision to complete the Chinese currency measure first simply means the chamber will take up a bill that is likely to pass before tackling a likely vote of political positioning on the jobs plan.
The aide predicted the Senate will debate the jobs plan sometime next month. The delay, he said, also fulfills a request from the White House that it have time to sell the public on the package before it faces its first congressional vote.
"It was at the White House's request that they be allowed an opportunity for the president to explain the details of the plan to the public," the aide said.
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