Politics
Obama: Congress should vote on jobs bill in October
Sen. Dick Durbin, the No. 2 Democrat in the Senate, said the president’s bill lacked the 60 votes that are typically needed to overcome procedural obstacles. The Illinois senator said some of the tax measures faced resistance within his own party. And some Senate Democrats, including West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin and Pennsylvania Sen. Bob Casey, have raised questions about the size of the US$447 billion package.
Manchin and Casey face re-election next year.
Senior administration officials dismissed those concerns, however, saying it was unclear how those Democrats would eventually vote.
Those officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss strategy, said that while the White House may not be able control the actions of congressional Republicans, they can try to portray the GOP as a scapegoat if the jobs bill doesn’t pass.
The administration’s goal, they said, it to present a picture of the Democrats unified in pushing for the jobs bill and the Republicans in opposition.
Asked whether the president would also share in the responsibility if his bill didn’t pass, the officials argued that the public separates the president from Congress, and sees him as someone who is willing to work with the other party.
“I have to tell you that I can’t imagine any American that I’ve been talking to that’s not interested in seeing construction workers back on the job rebuilding roads and bridges, schools, airports; putting teachers back in the classroom to make sure that our kids are getting the very best education; making sure our vets get help when they come home and that small businesses have further incentive to hire them,” Obama said Monday.
In an interview with ABC Monday, he added: “What I think the American people cannot abide by is us doing nothing.”
Copyright 2011 The Associated Press.
