Obama Makes His Case for Jobs Plan

This is the VOA Special English Economics Report, from http://voaspecialenglish.com | http://facebook.com/voalearningenglishPresident Obama has been seeking support for his four-hundred-forty-seven-billion-dollar jobs plan. The American Jobs Act calls for cutting wage taxes on most businesses. It seeks to prevent public employees like teachers, police and firefighters from losing their jobs to budget-cutting measures.And it calls for more federal spending on roads and transportation infrastructure to help create jobs.In October the Senate blocked a vote on the full bill. President Obama said he would seek votes on different parts of his jobs plan. Mr. Obama and his wife, Michelle, traveled to North Carolina andVirginia as part of efforts to seek support for his jobs plan.The Republican majority leader in the House of Representatives said some parts of the bill are like those in a plan put forward by the Republicans. Eric Cantor urged President Obama to find common ground with House Republicans. "We want the president to work with us. We want him to stop campaigning. Let's go find the things that are in common between this plan and his."Republicans in Congress offered their own plans to improve job growth earlier in the year. They have called for cutting tax rates and limiting government rules on businesses.Also in October, Congress passed free trade deals with South Korea, Colombia and Panama, and the president signed them into law. Both Mr. Obama and congressional Republicans agree the deals should create jobs at home and open markets to American exports. United States trade officials say every additional billion dollars in new exports supports six thousand additional jobs. Last year, exports to South Korea alone stood at about thirty-nine billion dollars. But the president says a lack of jobs continues to hurt economic growth. The unemployment rate held at 9.1 percent in September.The economy added over one hundred thousand jobs during the month. But economists say that is not enough to markedly bring down jobless rate.For VOA Special English, I'm Alex Villarreal. Our programs are a way for people to read, listen and learn American English and much more. You can download transcripts and MP3s of our stories at voaspecialenglish.com. You can also join us on Facebook and Twitter at VOA Learning English.

(Adapted from a radio program broadcast 21Oct2011)