WASHINGTON - October 1, 2011
Both efforts face little chance of success as all-or-nothing
proposals in the divided legislature.
The Senate, which is controlled by Democrats, has yet to take up
Obama's legislation.
The president has been mounting a steady public campaign on
behalf of his bill, casting Congress - and Republicans in
particular - as obstacles. With a populist flair, Obama has been
barnstorming across the country to prod Congress, so far to no
avail.
"It is time for Congress to get its act together and pass this
jobs bill so I can sign it into law," he said in his weekly radio
and Internet address Saturday.
In the Republican address, Rep. Morgan Griffith, R-Va., made a
pitch for legislation in the House that would reduce regulatory
requirements on businesses. He cited rules affecting cement plants
and restrictions on institutional boilers as examples of government
overreaching.
"For years, excessive regulations have been a source of
frustration for businesses trying to stay afloat," he said.
"President Obama, who has said he's willing to consider
stopping excessive regulations, should call on the Democrat-led
Senate to follow the House in passing these jobs bills," he said.
Obama's public approval ratings have held steady in the low 40
percent, but the public's assessment of his handling of the economy
has been significantly lower. Obama has been trying to deflect
responsibility to congressional Republicans, who together with
congressional Democrats fare much worse than the president.
Obama's proposal would cut payroll taxes for workers and for
businesses, lengthen jobless benefits, spend on public works
projects and pay local and state governments to keep teachers,
police and firefighters on the job. He has proposed paying for the
legislation with targeted tax increases - limits on deductions
taken by wealthier taxpayers, closing corporate loopholes and
ending oil and gas subsidies.
Republicans have said some of his proposals, such as the payroll
tax cuts, are worth considering. But they object to spending
proposals and flatly reject raising taxes to pay for them. Even
some Senate Democrats have balked at the taxes Obama would raise.
There are 51 Democrats in the Senate and two independents who
typically vote with them; there are 47 Republicans. But it usually
takes 60 votes to overcome procedural roadblocks and pass
legislation. Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, the second-ranking
Democrat in the Senate and an Obama ally, told a radio interviewer
this week that there were not 60 votes in the Senate now for
Obama's bill. "We can work on it," Durbin said. "We should."
In the radio address, Obama said: "Some Republicans in Congress
have said that they agree with certain parts of this jobs bill. If
so, it's time for them to tell me what those proposals are."
Obama referred to letters he receives from across the country,
from a Georgia teenager to an unemployed Oregon couple, urging
Congress to pass the legislation.
"If anyone watching feels the same way, don't be shy about
letting your congressman know," he said. "It is time for the
politics to end."
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Online:
Obama address: www.whitehouse.gov
GOP address: http://www.youtube.com/HouseConference
