Obama Urges Senate To Pass Jobs Bill, Says He's "Comfortable" With Surtax Revision

President Obama urged Congress yet again to pass the American Jobs Act Thursday, demanding an explanation from Senators who plan to vote against the bill.

“As we look towards next week, any senator out there who would vote against this jobs act needs to explain why they’re voting against something that will help,” Obama told reporters at a press conference in the East Room of the White House.

Obama endorsed a Senate version of the bill that features a high-income surtax as a means to pay for the bill, saying “I’m fine with the approach they’ve taken.”

In addition to his endorsement of the 5.6 percent surtax on incomes over $1 million to pay for the bill, Obama acknowledged that the tax code needs to be reformed in order to drive down the country’s deficit and long-term debt.

Recent polls show that a majority of Americans are losing faith in the economy. In fact, six in ten believe that the economy will get worse in the next year, according to Gallup. This growing pessimism seemed to be validated by the president during his remarks.

“There is no doubt that the economy is weaker now than it was at the beginning of the year,” Obama said, citing the Japanese quake, high gas prices caused by the Arab Spring, Europe’s financial woes and a debt ceiling debacle as leading factors to the economy’s slowed recovery.

To add clout to his jobs bill, Obama said it “could help guard against a downturn if the situation in Europe gets any worse.”

“The problems Europe is having right now could have a very real effect on our economy,” Obama said. “The economy is just too fragile to let politics get in the way of action.”