The Obama administration has developed a $447 billion jobs plan that aims to put millions of unemployed Americans back to work through a mix of tax cuts and investments in modernizing schools and roads.
The package, which will be submitted to Congress in a bill called the “American Jobs Act,” represents President Obama’s attempt to jump-start an economy that has slowed nearly to a halt in recent months and spur employers to begin hiring again. Obama was unveiling the plan publicly Thursday evening before a joint session of Congress.
The White House released excerpts of the president’s speech prior to the start of the address:
“The people of this country work hard to meet their responsibilities. The question tonight is whether we’ll meet ours. The question is whether, in the face of an ongoing national crisis, we can stop the political circus and actually do something to help the economy; whether we can restore some of the fairness and security that has defined this nation since our beginning.
“Those of us here tonight cannot solve all of our nation’s woes. Ultimately, our recovery will be driven not by Washington, but by our businesses and our workers. But we can help. We can make a difference. There are steps we can take right now to improve people’s lives.
“I am sending this Congress a plan that you should pass right away. It’s called the American Jobs Act. There should be nothing controversial about this piece of legislation. Everything in here is the kind of proposal that’s been supported by both Democrats and Republicans – including many who sit here tonight. And everything in this bill will be paid for. Everything.
“The purpose of the American Jobs Act is simple: to put more people back to work and more money in the pockets of those who are working. It will create more jobs for construction workers, more jobs for teachers, more jobs for veterans, and more jobs for the long-term unemployed. It will provide a tax break for companies who hire new workers, and it will cut payroll taxes in half for every working American and every small business. It will provide a jolt to an economy that has stalled, and give companies confidence that if they invest and hire, there will be customers for their products and services. You should pass this jobs plan right away.”
The centerpiece of the plan, at a cost of $175 billion, is an extension of and 50 percent increase in a payroll tax cut that is set to expire at the end of the year. White House officials said their proposal would put an additional $1,500 in the pockets of a typical family in 2012.
Other major initiatives include an infrastructure program that would invest $140 billion to rehire teachers and first responders, modernize schools and rebuild roads and bridges.
“We have a lot of confidence in the plan,” said a senior White House official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to preview the plan before Obama spoke. “If you look at the design, it’s the right balance, the right mix in getting money into people’s pockets. We have very important initiatives to get people to work. ... We have faith in our program. We think it will have very significant impact on job growth.”
White House aides have described the plan as being composed of programs that Republicans have supported. But Republican leaders have been skeptical, and continued this week to denounce Obama’s economic policies, including the $787 billion stimulus package he pushed through Congress two years ago.
The Labor Department reported Thursday that jobless claims rose by 2,000 to 414,000 for the week ending Sept. 3. The department said last week that no net jobs were created in August. Unemployment stands at 9.1 percent.
“Many of us have been calling on the president to propose something different tonight. Not because of politics, but because the kind of policies he’s proposed have failed,” Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said Thursday in a statement before Obama’s address. “It’s time the president start thinking less about how to describe his policies differently and more time thinking about devising new policies. And he might start by working with Congress, instead of writing in secret, without any consultation with Republicans, a plan that the White House is calling bipartisan.”
Obama’s jobs act also includes a $70 billion proposal to offer tax cuts to small businesses that hire new workers, and $62 billion in unemployment insurance.
White House officials said Obama would offer details next week on how he would pay for the plan when he delivers his recommendations to a congressional “supercommittee” that has been tasked with finding at least $1.5 trillion in deficit reductions. Obama intends to offer his own deficit reduction plan that would save more than $1.5 trillion and pay for the new jobs investments with the savings gained in outlying years, officials said.
White House officials declined to predict how many new jobs the package would create, but stressed that the initiatives are designed to get companies hiring quickly.
“Those of us here tonight cannot solve all of our nation’s woes. Ultimately, our recovery will be driven not by Washington, but by our businesses and our workers. But we can help. We can make a difference. There are steps we can take right now to improve people’s lives.
“I am sending this Congress a plan that you should pass right away. It’s called the American Jobs Act. There should be nothing controversial about this piece of legislation. Everything in here is the kind of proposal that’s been supported by both Democrats and Republicans – including many who sit here tonight. And everything in this bill will be paid for. Everything.
“The purpose of the American Jobs Act is simple: to put more people back to work and more money in the pockets of those who are working. It will create more jobs for construction workers, more jobs for teachers, more jobs for veterans, and more jobs for the long-term unemployed. It will provide a tax break for companies who hire new workers, and it will cut payroll taxes in half for every working American and every small business. It will provide a jolt to an economy that has stalled, and give companies confidence that if they invest and hire, there will be customers for their products and services. You should pass this jobs plan right away.”
The centerpiece of the plan, at a cost of $175 billion, is an extension of and 50 percent increase in a payroll tax cut that is set to expire at the end of the year. White House officials said their proposal would put an additional $1,500 in the pockets of a typical family in 2012.
Other major initiatives include an infrastructure program that would invest $140 billion to rehire teachers and first responders, modernize schools and rebuild roads and bridges.
“We have a lot of confidence in the plan,” said a senior White House official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to preview the plan before Obama spoke. “If you look at the design, it’s the right balance, the right mix in getting money into people’s pockets. We have very important initiatives to get people to work. ... We have faith in our program. We think it will have very significant impact on job growth.”
White House aides have described the plan as being composed of programs that Republicans have supported. But Republican leaders have been skeptical, and continued this week to denounce Obama’s economic policies, including the $787 billion stimulus package he pushed through Congress two years ago.
The Labor Department reported Thursday that jobless claims rose by 2,000 to 414,000 for the week ending Sept. 3. The department said last week that no net jobs were created in August. Unemployment stands at 9.1 percent.
“Many of us have been calling on the president to propose something different tonight. Not because of politics, but because the kind of policies he’s proposed have failed,” Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said Thursday in a statement before Obama’s address. “It’s time the president start thinking less about how to describe his policies differently and more time thinking about devising new policies. And he might start by working with Congress, instead of writing in secret, without any consultation with Republicans, a plan that the White House is calling bipartisan.”
Obama’s jobs act also includes a $70 billion proposal to offer tax cuts to small businesses that hire new workers, and $62 billion in unemployment insurance.
White House officials said Obama would offer details next week on how he would pay for the plan when he delivers his recommendations to a congressional “supercommittee” that has been tasked with finding at least $1.5 trillion in deficit reductions. Obama intends to offer his own deficit reduction plan that would save more than $1.5 trillion and pay for the new jobs investments with the savings gained in outlying years, officials said.
White House officials declined to predict how many new jobs the package would create, but stressed that the initiatives are designed to get companies hiring quickly.
WASHINGTON POST
No comments:
Post a Comment