Obama slams Republicans for blocking jobs bill

WASHINGTON: US President Barack Obama on Wednesday castigated Republicans for blocking his jobs bill, demanding the unpopular Congress do its own job and pass measures to put the unemployed back to work.

Hours after Senate Republicans halted passage of the $447 billion bill, the president said people who expected him to give up fighting for the plan were mistaken.

"Last night, even though a majority of senators voted in favor of the American Jobs Act, a Republican minority got together as a group and blocked this jobs bill from passing the Senate," Obama said.

"They said no to more jobs for teachers. No to more jobs for cops and firefighters. No to more jobs for construction workers and veterans."

Obama warned that a lot of media and political professionals in Washington would expect the procedural vote in the Senate to mark the end for his efforts to use the bill to cut 9.1 percent unemployment and spark growth.

"Not this time, not with so many Americans out of work... we will not take no for an answer," Obama said, speaking at an event at the Interior Department honoring the heritage of the US Hispanic community.

"We will keep organizing and we will keep pressuring and we will keep voting until this Congress finally meets its responsibilities and actually does something to put people back to work and improve the economy."

Obama's Republican foes however accuse him of not listening to their job creation ideas and of seeking to embark on another round of stimulus spending -- a tactic they say has already been tried and proven a failure.

Senior White House officials said they would work with Democrats in Congress to schedule votes on parts of the bill, including an extension of payroll tax cuts and financing to keep public employees like teachers in work.

They hope to force Republicans into tough votes that will see the party's lawmakers facing the prospect of voting against extending payroll taxes, tax hikes for the rich and money to help war veterans find work.

Two Democratic senators, facing tough reelection fights, joined Republicans in ensuring that the jobs bill would not reach the 60-vote supermajority needed to advance in the 100-seat Senate. (AFP)