How Many American Jobs Did Your Senator Vote Against?
Yesterday evening, every single Republican senator and two Democrats — Sens. Ben Nelson (NE) and Jon Tester (MT) — voted against taking up the president’s jobs plan. Even though the plan enjoyed the support of 51 senators — a majority — it failed to advance because of the GOP’s filibuster.
Here’s a rundown of some of the American jobs those senators voted down.
Voting Against Putting People Back to Work Rebuilding America
One of the main elements of the president’s job plan is a $50 BILLION investment to rebuild America’s crumbling roads, bridges, transit systems, and airports. In addition to funding vital projects that will help keep America competitive, these investments will put thousands of people back to work in each and every state.
Here are some examples of what senators voted down:
- Sen. Pat Toomey (R-PA) voted against more than $1.37 BILLION in immediate investments that would put at least 17,900 Pennsylvanians back to work.
- Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) voted against nearly $2.6 BILLION in immediate investments that would put at least 33,800 Texans back to work.
Check out this chart to see how many jobs rebuilding America that your senator voted for or against.
Voting Against Teachers
State and local budget crises, worsened by the GOP’s refusal to provide sufficient aid to states, have thrown tens of thousands of teachers, cops, and firefighters out of work across the country. The American Jobs Act would save 280,000 such jobs across the country.
Look at how many teachers these senators voted to take out of their states’ classrooms:
- Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) voted against keeping 25,900 teachers working in the Sunshine State.
- Sen. Scott Brown (R-MA) voted against keeping 6,300 teachers in the Bay State’s schools.
Check out this chart to see how many teachers your senator voted to keep in the classroom or to add to the rolls of unemployed.
Voting Against Good Schools For Our Kids
In addition to keeping teachers in the classroom, the president’s jobs plan also puts Americans back to work modernizing America’s schools, many of which are in a dire state of disrepair. The plan’s $30 BILLION investment would modernize a least 35,000 schools across the country — about one-third of all the schools in America.
Here’s how many construction workers these senators chose to keep unemployed rather than back to work fixing up schools in their communities:
- Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME) voted to keep 1,200 Mainers out of work.
- Sen. Dean Heller (R-NV), whose state has the highest unemployment rate in the nation, voted to keep 2,200 Nevadans out of work.
Check out this chart to see how many construction workers your Senators either want back to work modernizing schools for our kids or want to remain jobless.
Survey Says: Americans Strongly Support the President’s Jobs Plan & Higher Taxes for the Wealthy, Corporations
While Senate Republicans may have voted down the job plan, a new NBC News-Wall Street Journal poll out today shows the plan is extremely popular:
- 63 PERCENT of Americans support the president’s jobs plan, with just 32 percent opposed.
- 64 PERCENT agree that it’s a “good idea” to raise taxes on the wealthy and corporations, while just 31 percent disagree.
Notable Quotable: Sen. Reid v. Sen. McConnell
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY):
The single most important thing we want to achieve is for President Obama to be a one-term president. That’s my single most important political goal along with every active Republican in the country.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV):
Republicans think that if the economy improves, it might help President Obama. So they root for the economy to fail and oppose every effort to improve it.
Evening Brief: Important Stories That You May Have Missed
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