Late Thursday evening, Senate Democrats and Republicans attempted to push through measures in a much-needed jobs bill, but fell short of the 60 votes required to bring the measures to the floor. However, the disagreements between both parties came down to taxes and whether they should be increased.
Jobs Bill Blocked Along Party Lines
Yesterday night, senators from both major parties blocked each others jobs bill recommendations in an attempt to push their own measure forward. This resulted in a deadlock that could jeopardize employment prospects for Americans, in addition to risking unemployment benefits as early as January 2012 for those who are without work.
Initially, a 50-50 vote blocked a component of President Barack Obama’s jobs bill, which includes $35 billion for states and localities to hire more teachers and first responders while preventing current ones from being laid off.
In a separate vote, Democrats blocked a Republican-backed measure that was a part of Obama’s broad jobs package. This time, the vote was blocked 57-43, forcing both sides to head back to the drawing board as they push to get the jobs bill passed.
Taxes a Major Issue for Senators
On both sides of the fence, taxes were a major issue for lawmakers. In the Democrat-backed proposal, the $35 billion used to save jobs would have been paid for by a 0.5 percent tax increase for citizens earning more than $1 million a year, a proposal that was met with much opposition from the Republican party.
Democrats similarly opposed a Republican-backed measure to repeal a 3 percent withholding requirement for all government contractors. Businesses have publicly denounced the requirement as burdensome, and lawmakers could not agree on how to offset the costs of eliminating the withholding.
Each party blamed the other for the stalemate, accusing the opposite party of pushing their own agendas for the 2012 elections, rather than working to agree upon a jobs bill that will increase employment opportunities for Americans.
If lawmakers are unable to work cooperatively to develop a jobs bill in the near future, millions of unemployed workers may face continued employment hardship moving into the new year.
