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Washington (CNN) — President Barack Obama on Thursday renewed his call for Senate Republicans to stop blocking a jobs bill intended to help small businesses.

Just before leaving for vacation, Obama told reporters at the White House that political gamesmanship instead of legitimate policy differences is stalling the bill.

He noted that the legislative process includes “times when good people differ in good faith.”

“This is not one of those times,” Obama said, adding that Republicans drafted parts of the legislation now being filibustered by Senate Republicans to prevent a vote.

Full Story at  PoliticalTicker.blogs.CNN.com

(CNN) – Former House Ways and Means Chairman Dan Rostenkowski has died at the age of 82, CNN confirmed.

“Rosty” was a fixture in Chicago politics and a dominant force on Capitol Hill for decades, representing Chicago’s Northwest Side from 1959 to 1995 in a storied career that saw incredible highs and lows.

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(CNN) — President Barack Obama on Wednesday challenged Senate Republicans to back a bill that would help small businesses, calling its provisions “things the Republican Party has said it supported for years.”

Speaking at a New Jersey sandwich shop, Obama said the bill would help people like the shop’s owners and other small-business operators by easing their tax burden and helping them get more credit.

“Surely, Democrats and Republicans ought to be able to agree on this bill,” Obama said.

Full Story at CNN.com

(CNN) — Vice President Joe Biden urged the Senate on Tuesday to “get on the right side” and pass the Paycheck Fairness Act, and President Barack Obama issued a statement reiterating his support of the legislation.

The bill, approved by the House in a 256-163 vote in January of last year, would require employers to provide a legitimate reason for paying different salaries to men and women performing the same job.

The vice president spoke Tuesday at a White House Middle Class Task Force event on solutions for families balancing the dual demands of work and caring for family.

Full Story at msnbc.com

WASHINGTON — The U.S. government is handing out nearly $2 billion for new solar plants that President Barack Obama says will create thousands of jobs and increase the use of renewable energy sources.

Obama announced the initiative in his weekly radio and online address Saturday, saying the money is part of his plan to bring new industries to the U.S.

“We’re going to keep competing aggressively to make sure the jobs and industries of the future are taking root right here in America,” Obama said.

The two companies that will receive the money from the president’s $862 billion economic stimulus are Abengoa Solar, which will build one of the world’s largest solar plants in Arizona, creating 1,600 construction jobs; and Abound Solar Manufacturing, which is building plants in Colorado and Indiana.

Full Story at msnbc.com

WASHINGTON — The U.S. government is handing out nearly $2 billion for new solar plants that President Barack Obama says will create thousands of jobs and increase the use of renewable energy sources.

Obama announced the initiative in his weekly radio and online address Saturday, saying the money is part of his plan to bring new industries to the U.S.

“We’re going to keep competing aggressively to make sure the jobs and industries of the future are taking root right here in America,” Obama said.

Full Story at money.cnn.com

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — The U.S. economy lost jobs in June, for the first time this year, as modest hiring by businesses only partly offset the end of Census jobs.

The Labor Department on Friday reported a net loss of 125,000 jobs in the month. That was due primarily to the loss of 225,000 Census jobs that had swelled payrolls in May.

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Business hiring rebounded to 83,000, which was still a bit weaker than hoped. While it’s up from the jobs private sector employers added in May, it was well below hiring levels in March and April.

Full Story at CNN.com

Washington (CNN) — The House of Representatives Tuesday began debate on a bill to extend jobless benefits through the end of November.

The measure would make the benefits effective retroactively, allowing those who may have been cut off from unemployment insurance at the end of May to collect those federal payments.

Full Story at msnbc.com

WASHINGTON — The third time was the charm for President Barack Obama to fill the top job at the Transportation Security Administration.

The Senate Friday confirmed John Pistole, the former deputy FBI director, to head the TSA. The vote was unanimous. Obama’s first two choices to run the agency dropped out during their confirmation processes over the past year.

Full Story at msnbc.com

WHITE LAKE, N.C. – The Obama administration has opened a broad campaign of enforcement against farmers who employ children and underpay workers, hiring hundreds of investigators and raising fines for labor and wage violators.

A flurry of fines and mounting public pressure on blueberry farmers is only the opening salvo, Labor Secretary Hilda L. Solis said in an interview.