Politics
Small element of Obama jobs plan passed by house
The Republican-led House of Representatives passed a minor element of President Barack Obama’s jobs bill on Thursday as consensus remained elusive on other efforts to boost the struggling U.S. economy.
With the unemployment rate stuck at 9 percent, Republicans and Democrats have lined up behind sharply different job-creation agendas.
Neither agenda is likely to become law. But both will have a long afterlife in the 2012 presidential and congressional elections as both parties seek to convince voters that they have a better plan to create jobs.
Thursday’s vote was a rare example of common ground as the House voted 406 to 16 to eliminate a yet-to-be enacted law that would withhold 3 percent of payments to government contractors. The Senate is expected to pass the measure next week.
It could be one of the few elements of Obama’s US$447 billion job-creation package to pass Congress.
