Nine days after President Obama's $447 billion jobs package was blocked in the U.S. Senate, one of the plan's key components — which would provide $35 billion to states and local governments to hire teachers and first responders — suffered the same fate late Thursday.
The vote represented the legislative part of a strategy by Democrats to convince voters that they are pushing popular job-creation bills that are being thwarted by Republican opposition.
All 47 Republicans voted against allowing the bill to proceed to a full debate, arguing that temporary stimulus dollars for state and local government would do little to bolster the private sector.
Republicans also opposed imposing a 0.5 percent surtax on million-dollar incomes to pay for the aid, as Democrats proposed. They contended that inclusion of a tax increase signaled that the vote was intended as a campaign tool and was not a serious effort to find bipartisan agreement on spurring job growth.
Two Democrats also opposed proceeding with the measure, as did Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman (I-Conn.); 50 senators voted to move ahead with the bill.
Under the rules of the Senate, 60 votes were needed to continue toward action on the bill.
The vote concluded a week-long whirlwind of rallies and speeches to promote the jobs legislation. Obama barnstormed for the bill on a bus tour through North Carolina and Virginia, and Senate Democrats rallied with teachers and firefighters at the Capitol.
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