Gayle in MD
11-03-2011, 05:10 PM
WASHINGTON — Republicans in the Senate Thursday dealt President Barack Obama the third in a string of defeats on his stimulus-style jobs agenda, blocking a $60 billion measure for building and repairing infrastructure like roads and rail lines.
Supporters of the failed measure said it would have created tens of thousands of construction jobs and lifted the still-struggling economy. But Republicans unanimously opposed it for its tax surcharge on the wealthy and spending totals they said were too high.
The 51-49 vote fell well short of the 60 votes required under Senate procedures to start work on the bill. Every Republican opposed the president, as did Democrat Ben Nelson of Nebraska and former Democrat Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., who still aligns with the party.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/03/obama-infrastructure-plan-senate-gop-blocks_n_1074539.html
WASHINGTON -- Roughly 30 jobless protesters from D.C. neighborhoods occupied Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell's office in the Russell Senate Office Building Thursday, saying they wanted to talk to him about jobs.
But McConnell was busy at the Capitol Building, where he led Republicans in blocking a $60 billion infrastructure bill. The protesters said they supported the measure.
McConnell's legislative director offered to sit down with the group, but they declined, saying they'd rather wait for the senator himself. So they sat in his office, taking up every chair and lots of floor space while McConnell's staff went about its business. A Capitol Police officer scoped the situation and said her heart went out to them for losing their jobs.
The protesters, most of whom said they lived in the poorest part of Southeast D.C., had no affiliation with the Occupy Wall Street movement. They'd been organized by a community group called OurDC, which has been hectoring Congress about jobs since it launched with SEIU seed money earlier this year. The protesters remained in the office as of Thursday afternoon as of 3 p.m. and said they wouldn't leave before meeting the senator.
"Hopefully we can all get together with the senator today before time is up," said Ted Black, a 58-year-old resident of Southeast D.C. Black said he is a Vietnam-era veteran and that he lost his job as a radiologist tech three months ago. He supports President Obama's jobs package, he said, including the blocked infrastructure bill.
"I'm here supporting the cause for veterans and also for teachers and children and schools and residents who are unemployed or underemployed or homeless," Black said.
McConnell's office declined to comment on the protesters.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/03/jobless-protesters-occupy_n_1074182.html
Supporters of the failed measure said it would have created tens of thousands of construction jobs and lifted the still-struggling economy. But Republicans unanimously opposed it for its tax surcharge on the wealthy and spending totals they said were too high.
The 51-49 vote fell well short of the 60 votes required under Senate procedures to start work on the bill. Every Republican opposed the president, as did Democrat Ben Nelson of Nebraska and former Democrat Joe Lieberman, I-Conn., who still aligns with the party.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/03/obama-infrastructure-plan-senate-gop-blocks_n_1074539.html
WASHINGTON -- Roughly 30 jobless protesters from D.C. neighborhoods occupied Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell's office in the Russell Senate Office Building Thursday, saying they wanted to talk to him about jobs.
But McConnell was busy at the Capitol Building, where he led Republicans in blocking a $60 billion infrastructure bill. The protesters said they supported the measure.
McConnell's legislative director offered to sit down with the group, but they declined, saying they'd rather wait for the senator himself. So they sat in his office, taking up every chair and lots of floor space while McConnell's staff went about its business. A Capitol Police officer scoped the situation and said her heart went out to them for losing their jobs.
The protesters, most of whom said they lived in the poorest part of Southeast D.C., had no affiliation with the Occupy Wall Street movement. They'd been organized by a community group called OurDC, which has been hectoring Congress about jobs since it launched with SEIU seed money earlier this year. The protesters remained in the office as of Thursday afternoon as of 3 p.m. and said they wouldn't leave before meeting the senator.
"Hopefully we can all get together with the senator today before time is up," said Ted Black, a 58-year-old resident of Southeast D.C. Black said he is a Vietnam-era veteran and that he lost his job as a radiologist tech three months ago. He supports President Obama's jobs package, he said, including the blocked infrastructure bill.
"I'm here supporting the cause for veterans and also for teachers and children and schools and residents who are unemployed or underemployed or homeless," Black said.
McConnell's office declined to comment on the protesters.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/11/03/jobless-protesters-occupy_n_1074182.html