White House Offers Details of American Jobs Act

President Obama laid out the details of the billion American Jobs Act on Monday (September 12) — including how he intends to pay for it — as he sought to drum up support for the legislation in all 50 states.

While Obama hit the road to take his case directly to the voters , the White House issued a new analysis of what the bill would do for residents of each state.

The Florida section, for example, reports that the legislation would deliver a ,430 tax cut to the average household; benefit 410,000 Florida businesses by lowering payroll taxes; help 498,000 of the state’s long-term unemployed stay afloat; and pump billions of dollars into school construction, transportation and other projects, putting tens of thousands of teachers, first responders and laborers back to work.

The White House is hoping that specific, state-by-state numbers will drive support for the jobs act, and Democrats are doubling down in swing states that are considered essential to Obama’s reelection chances. The Washington Post reports that the Democratic National Committee is airing television and Internet ads in Virginia and several other swing states in support of the bill.

Despite the administration’s promotion efforts, there were fresh signs on Capitol Hill that key aspects of the plan would face determined opposition. Obama announced he would pay for the legislation with higher taxes on wealthy families and others, a proposal that House Republicans swiftly criticized.