Yesterday, Senators from both sides of the aisle joined together to defeat a section of President Obama’s jobs bill. The portion up for a debate vote included money for teachers, fire rescuers and police officers. According to a Christian Science article, the measure failed in the U.S. Senate with a 50-50 vote. It needed 60 votes in order to pass. Along with all Republicans, two Democrats and one independent voted against the bill calling it a bailout.
Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) was quoted in the article saying the federal government cannot afford “another bailout of local governments.” To pay for the legislation, Democrats and President Obama proposed a 0.5% tax increase on Americans earning over $1 million annually. However, Senator Lamar Alexander (R-TN) said, “Four out of every five American who would pay higher taxes are small business owners. That doesn’t sound like a jobs bill to me.”
