The Hill News

President Obama promised to further press lawmakers on job creation after the Senate broke an impasse Tuesday to extend unemployment benefits.

Obama welcomed the Senate's successful vote this afternoon to restore benefits that had expired in early June and extend them into the future.

"After a partisan minority blocked this critical aid to our nation’s families three separate times, the Senate has moved forward on restoring benefits to the 2.5 million Americans whose livelihood has been held hostage by obstruction and game playing over the past weeks," the president said, taking a jab at Republicans who'd blocked the extension to insist that benefits be offset by spending cuts.

The Senate passed the benefits after getting a 60th vote from Sen. Carte Goodwin (D-W.Va.), who was sworn in shortly before the vote to fill the seat left vacant by the late Sen. Robert Byrd.

But Obama also vowed to move ahead with more benefits, a day after his press secretary said that the administration would request another extension of benefits after the ones lawmakers approved Tuesday expire.

"I will continue to fight for economic policies that will lead us out of this mess and press Congress to act on more proposals to create new American jobs and strengthen our recovery, including a small business jobs bill, aid for struggling states to prevent layoffs and tax cuts for middle-class families," he said.