The American Jobs Act (S. 1549) (H. Doc. 112-53) and (H.R. 12) was the informal name for a pair of bills recommended by U.S. President Barack Obama in a nationally televised address to a joint session of Congress on Thursday, September 8, 2011. He characterized the proposal as a collection of non-controversial measures designed to get Americans back to work, and he repeatedly urged Congress to pass it "right away"; he also said that the bills would not add to the national deficit and would be fully paid for.

Since the start of the great recession, unemployment and underemployment levels in the U.S. have remained stubbornly high. Through the resulting "jobless recovery," consumer confidence has remained shaky, raising the specter of a double dip recession.

In August 2011, the U.S. Congress agreed on raising the debt ceiling and a reduction in deficits within the next decade. The acrimonious debate leading to the passage of this bill made clear that some in the United States Congress considered national default to be a viable political option. Following passage, Standard & Poor's downgraded the United States top credit rating from AAA to AA+ citing various factors including the long term political struggle to raise the debt ceiling and a lack of credible plans to reduce federal spending and increase tax revenue. Economic data released in July and August 2011 came in worse than expected, and worldwide stock markets tumbled quickly raising the fear of a new recession. After Labor Day, President Obama, in a major speech before a joint session of Congress, detailed a major new jobs package and urged the Congress to pass it without delay.

Obama's speech aired in the United States on 11 television networks during primetime, including ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, Fox News Channel, Fox Business Network, MSNBC, and CNBC. Nielsen Media Research estimate that 31.4 million viewers watched the speech, 10 million less than the 2011 State of the Union Address, but six million more than his March speech on Libya. The President's address was rescheduled to September 8 after his original request to deliver the speech on September 7 was rebuffed by Speaker of the House John Boehner, who cited a clash with a Republican Presidential debate already scheduled for the same time and stated that more time was required to secure the House for the President's visit. The President made his speech at 7:00pm Eastern, instead of the usual 9:00pm start for presidential addresses to joint sessions of Congress, so he would be finished before the first game of the National Football League season between the New Orleans Saints and the Green Bay Packers at 8:30pm.

The Republicans declined to broadcast an official opposition response, as it is traditionally done after a presidential address to a joint session of Congress. This decision was criticized by House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi as being "disrespectful" to the president and the American people. However Boehner denied any of this. "This is not a State of the Union address. The American people shouldn't be forced to watch some politician they don't want to listen to. And frankly, most of them would rather watch a football game," he said, referencing the aforementioned Saints-Packers game. However, Congress members were still available to respond to Obama's speech individually. Boehner later released a statement after the speech saying that "the proposals the president outlined tonight merit consideration. We hope he gives serious consideration to our ideas as well."

The White House provided a fact sheet which summarizes the key provisions of the $447 billion bill. Some of its elements include:

In total the legislation includes $253 billion in tax credits (56.6%) and $194 billion in spending and extension of unemployment benefits (43.4%).

In the Senate, the bill was stalled by Majority leader Harry Reid on September 27, 2011 who said