Combative President Obama Keeps Fighting For Jobs Bill

bigtree

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Wed Oct-12-11 03:43 PM
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Combative President Obama Keeps Fighting For Jobs Bill

Edited on Wed Oct-12-11 03:47 PM by bigtree

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

WASHINGTON — In his first, combative appearance since a united Senate GOP caucus filibustered the jobs plan to death, Pres. Obama promised to keep the pressure on Congress for his job initiatives.

After pressing for Congress to award his jobs package an up or down vote, Obama and his Democratic allies promise to force additional votes on separate pieces of the measure, like infrastructure spending, jobless assistance and tax cuts for individuals and businesses.

"We will keep organizing and we will keep pressuring and we will keep voting until this Congress finally meets its responsibilities and actually does something to put people back to work and improve the economy," said Pres. Obama

read more: http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2011/10/12/obama-still-pressing-on-with-jobs-act

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"For the better part of a decade, we've seen the rich get richer, the poor get poorer, the middle class get squeezed," President Obama said. "That was before the crisis that began in Wall Street and made its way to Main Streets all across America, making it harder for people to find jobs, harder for families to keep their heads above water.

. . . with so many people hurting today, there are things we can do right now to make a difference. There are things we should do right now to put more people back to work and to restore a sense of security and fairness that's been missing for too long.

So that's why I put forward the American Jobs Act. That's why I sent Congress a jobs bill made up of the kinds of proposals that, traditionally, Democrats and Republicans have supported. Independent economists who do this for a living have said the American Jobs Act would lead to more growth and nearly 2 million jobs next year. No other jobs plan has that kind of support from actual economists -- no plan from Congress, no plan from anybody.

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But apparently, none of this matters to Republicans in the Senate. Because last night, even though a majority of senators voted in favor of the American Jobs Act, a Republican minority got together as a group and blocked this jobs bill from passing the Senate. They said no to more jobs for teachers; no to more jobs for cops and firefighters; no to more jobs for construction workers and veterans; no to tax cuts for small business owners and middle-class Americans.

Now, a lot of folks in Washington and the media will look at last night's vote and say, well, that’s it. Let’s move on to the next fight. But I’ve got news for them: Not this time. Not with so many Americans out of work. Not with so many folks in your communities hurting. We will not take no for an answer.

We will keep organizing and we will keep pressuring and we will keep voting until this Congress finally meets its responsibilities and actually does something to put people back to work and improve the economy.

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We’ll give members of Congress a chance to vote on whether they think that we should keep teachers out of work -- or put them back in the classroom where they belong, teaching our kids.

They’ll get a chance to vote on whether they think that construction workers should stay idle while our roads and bridges are falling apart -- or whether we should put these men and women back to work rebuilding America.

Republicans say that one of the most important things we can do is cut taxes. Well, they get a chance to vote on whether we should cut taxes for middle-class families, or let them go up. This job would cut taxes for virtually every worker and small business in America; 25 million Latinos would benefit. If you’re a small business owner who hires a new worker or raises wages, you’d get another tax cut. If you hire a veteran, like Sergeant Petry, you’d get another tax cut. Anybody who fights for our country should not have to fight for a job when they come home.

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Now, I know some folks in Congress blocked this jobs bill because of how it’s paid for. Well, we already agreed to cut nearly $1 trillion in government spending. We’ve offered to cut even more in order to bring down the deficit. But we can’t just cut without asking those of us who’ve been most fortunate in our society to pay our fair share. And that’s not about punishing success; it’s about making choices. If we want to create jobs and close the deficit, and invest in our future, the money has got to come from somewhere.

And so we’ve got to ask ourselves a question: Would we rather keep the tax code with its loopholes exactly as they are for millionaires and billionaires -- or do you want construction workers to have a job rebuilding roads and bridges and schools? Because you know a lot of our kids in the community are learning in trailers right now. Why wouldn’t we want to put people back to work rebuilding those schools? Would you rather fight for special interest tax breaks, or do you want to fight for tax cuts for small businesses and middle-class families in your neighborhood? I think I know the answer.

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In the end, this is a debate about fairness and who we are as a country. It’s a debate about what we believe in; what kind of country do we want to be. When Michelle and I tuck our daughters into bed at night, we think about the fact that we are only where we are because somebody who came before us met their responsibilities. They put the America Dream within our reach. They made sure that there were student loan programs out there, and they made sure that there were decent schools out there, that there were opportunities for everybody. That’s the reason all of you are here today -- because somebody made an investment 10 years ago, 20 years ago, 30 years ago, 40 years ago, to ensure that you had a chance at success.

These are tough times, and a lot of people are living week to week, paycheck to paycheck, even day to day. They need action, and they need it now. They want Congress to work for the people who elected them in the first place. They want Congress to do their job.

So I need your help. I’m going to need -- you are opinion leaders all across the country. I need you to email and tweet, and fax and write letters, and get on the phone, meet face to face. Remind members of Congress who they work for. Remind them what’s at stake here. The time for games and politics is over. Too many in this country are hurting for us to stand by and do nothing . . .

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read and watch speech: http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2011/10/12/remarks-president-forum-american-latino-heritage

(AP photos/Pablo Martinez, Carolyn Kaster/REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst, Kevin Lamarque)