Obama's Jobs Plan

In a special televised address to the joint session of Congress on September 8, 2011, President Barack Obama unveiled his $447 billion jobs plan and asked Congress to approve it. The measure includes $253 billion in tax cuts and $194 billion in federal spending. The measure includes:

* Social Security tax cuts for both employees and employers. At present, employee portion of SS tax is 4.2%, down from 6.2%, but is expected to go up to 6.2% without Congressional action. Under the Obama jobs plan, the Social Security tax cuts for employees will be deepened to 3.1%. For employers, under his plan, the tax rate will go down by 50% to 3.1% for the first $5 million in payroll.

* Establishment of a new National Infrastructure Bank to modernize roads, rails and other public facilities.

The jobs plan calls for investing $140 billion in upgrading roads, bridges and schools, and $35 billion in keeping teachers, firefighters and police.

On September 12, 2011, President Obama unveiled another plan on how to finance his $447 billion jobs plan--formally known as American Jobs Act--made public on September 8, 2011. The finance components include:

* $405 billion by limiting the itemized deductions for charitable contributions and other deductions that can be taken by individuals making over $200,000 a year and families making over $250,000.

* $41 billion from closing loopholes for oil and gas companies.

* $18 billion from requiring fund managers to pay higher taxes on certain income.

* $3 billion from changing the tax treatment of corporate jets.

Obama has asked the congress to quickly pass the American Jobs Act.

Two Senate Republicans on October 13, 2011 unveiled their own jobs plan two days after the chamber rejected Obama's $447 billion jobs plan on October 11, 2011. Under the plan unveiled by Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz. and Sen. Rand Paul, R-KY, the Obamacare will be repealed, curbs will be imposed on EPA's rule-making authority, Dodd-Frank financial rule will be abrogated, and domestic oil and gas production will be encouraged. The plan, according to authors, will create about 5 million new jobs.

After Senate rejected Obama's $447 billion jobs plan on October 11, 2011, Senate Democrats decided to put individual components of the jobs plan to vote. On November 3, 2011, the $60 billion infrastructure building and repair component was defeated on the Senate floor, third such successive defeat of individual piece-by-piece approach, as Sen. Harry Reid was unable to garner procedural 60 votes needed to forward the proposal.

On November 7, 2011, Senate voted 94-1 to begin debating another piece of Obama's jobs plan, repeal of a requirement of federal, state and local governments withholding 3 percent of their payments to contractors. This component has wide-spread support among lawmakers from both political parties and overwhelmingly backed by small businesses. Once this piece is approved by the Senate, Democrats are planning to tag another incentive for veterans: up to $9,600 tax credits for companies that hire disabled veterans who have been jobless for the past six months, and strengthen employment counseling and training programs for vets and troops about to leave the military. On the eve of Veterans' Day on November 11, 2011, Senate passed the bill by 95-0 vote.