Obama to challenge Congress to pass Jobs plan

After his jobs bill sputtered in the Senate, US President Barack Obama will use a trip this week to push lawmakers to pass every element of it in multiple bills, the White House said. On a trip to North Carolina and Virginia, "The president will challenge Congress to get to work this week passing every element of the American Jobs Act piece by piece," Deputy Press Secretary Josh Earnest said. The first part Obama will focus on is a proposal to prevent teacher layoffs, as well as saving jobs of police officers and firefighters, the (CNN) quoted Earnest as saying. The Obama plan will cost $ 447 billion, including tax cuts and new spending to revive the stagnant labor market, and unemployment rates that reached 9.1%, which threatens Obama''s chances of winning a second term in the presidential elections due in November next year.