>>
chuck, good morning.
>>
good morning. it was a fiery president that went to the well of the house to plead with congressional republicans to pass his latest idea that jump-start america's flagging economy.
>>
you should pass this jobs plan right away.
>> reporter:
the president had a message. and to make sure no one missed it, he repeated it 17 times.
>>
you should pass it right away. you should pass this bill right away. you should pass it.
>> reporter:
the
american jobs
act which the president formally sends to congress next week calls for
tax breaks
for companies who hire new workers, who have special incentives for someone who has spent more than six months looking for a job or for hiring veterans.
>>
the last thing they should have to do is fight for a job when they come home.
>> reporter:
it will extend unemployment benefits for another year. cuts payroll taxes in half for every working american and every
small business
. the president says that would save the typical family $
1500
.
>>
$
1500
that would have been taking out of your pocket, will go into your pocket.
>> reporter:
it has programs to build and repair infrastructure. and a plan to modernize 35,000 schools and rehire laid off teachers.
>>
there should be nothing controversial about this piece of legislation. everything in here is the kind of proposal that's been supported by both democrats and republicans. and everything in this bill will be paid for, everything.
>> reporter:
republicans responded to the president on two fronts. republican congressional leaders were conciliatory but the
republican presidential candidates
were more critical.
rick perry
hit the president for the $450 billion price tag saying he's guided by his mistaken belief that we can spend our way to prosperity.
mitt romney
released a
web video
for hitting the president for taking so long to focus on jobs, 961, by their count. the president anticipated the campaign rhetoric.
>>
the next election is 14 months away. and the people who sent us here, the people who hired us to work for them, they don't have the luxury of waiting 14 months.
>> reporter:
the selling of this plan begins today. the president goes to richmond, virginia, home of number two house republican
eric cantor
, and then next week he begins selling it by going to the home state of speaker
john boehner
.
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