Filling in for President Barack Obama, Biden used the weekly media message to criticize Senate Republicans for voting to block jobs initiatives they themselves once supported. The GOP unanimously opposes more taxes.
Biden says the administration believes some tax hikes on wealthy Americans are fair.
For the Republicans, Massachusetts Sen. Scott Brown also stressed that time for action is growing short. He pressed Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid allow a vote on a jobs bill with bipartisan support.
Brown says the bill, which overwhelmingly passed the House, would repeal a mandate that would withhold 3 percent of payments to contractors that provide a product or service to government. Brown calls it a stealth tax.
