Senate Blocks Jobs Bill for Teachers, Fire Fighters and Cops

October 21, 2011 -- In a 50-50 vote late last night – just 10 votes shy of the 60-vote supermajority needed to shut down the Republican filibuster against the bill – the U.S. Senate blocked the first stand-alone measure from President Obama’s jobs bill – the Teachers and First Responders Back to Work Act, , S.1723, which would have provided $35 billion in funding for public safety and education, including funding for the Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) grant program, which would create up to 10,000 jobs.

At a rally in support of the jobs bill on October 19, IAFF members, police and teachers joined Vice President Biden and key senators on Capitol Hill to urge Congress to invest in programs to put fire fighters, police officers and teachers back to work protecting the nation’s communities and educating its children by passing the Teachers and First Responders Back to Work Act. The rally on Capitol Hill was one of several events staged by the IAFF and its state affiliates in Arizona, Florida, Illinois, Montana, Nebraska and West Virginia designed to pressure Congress to vote on President Obama’s jobs proposal.

Despite the long odds against it, the IAFF lobbied for this critical piece of legislation to put thousands of workers back on the job. “Generating support for a jobs bill has been a tough road from the start,” says IAFF General President Schaitberger. “But regardless of the outcome of the vote, we have once again established the strength, power and influence of our gold and black political brand.”

Kentucky Senator and Republican Leader Mitch McConnell organized the entire Republican Caucus to oppose Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid's effort to close debate and move to a vote on the bill, along with two Democrats (Nebraska Senator Ben Nelson and Arkansas Senator Mark Pryor) and one Independent (Connecticut Senator Joe Lieberman).