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The White House has given Congress its blessing to pass a package of bills introduced by House Republicans designed to help small businesses, hinting that the package could pass overwhelmingly in the House when it's brought up for a vote on Wednesday.
A statement from the White House Office of Management and Budget said says that President Obama is "encouraged to see that there is common ground" between the bill, called the JOBS Act, and some of the proposed policies the president mentioned in his State of the Union speech earlier this year.
"The administration looks forward to continuing to work with the House and the Senate to craft legislation that facilitates capital formation and job growth for small businesses and provides appropriate investor protections," the statement says.
But House Democrats are taking issue with the branding of the bill, which they say has taken Democratic ideas and turned them Republican for the sake of politics.
In one instance, according to House Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer (D-MD), Republicans took a bill introduced by a Democrat in 2011 (and which passed overwhelmingly) and simply slapped Rep. Ben Quayle's (R-AZ) name on it for the purposes of the JOBS act. Hoyer refers to the package as the "Just Old Bills" act, a play on the "JOBS" act acronym.
"These [bills] all try to deal with small businesses that are trying to expand," Hoyer said, "Good pieces of legislation but not a jobs bill."
It's clear that Democrats are working to soften the blow of what could be a legislative win for Republicans if the JOBS act does, in fact, pass and get signed into law. Democrats fear that if they pass a Republican bill named the "JOBS Act" they will no longer be able to use one of their favorite hit line: "400 days without a jobs bill in the Republican House".
"Just because you regurgitate a few bills and package them together, even though we've already passed them out doesn't mean you have a jobs agenda," Democratic Caucus Vice Chairman Xavier Becerra (D-CA) told reporters today before his caucus's weekly meeting.
"I think most Americans have been waiting quite some time, over 450 days now, for the Republicans in the Congress, using their leadership capacity, to give us a jobs agenda -- a true jobs agenda," Becerra said.
But the JOBS Act has an uncertain fate in the Senate, where a number of the bills included in the package have been waiting for a vote for -- at times -- months. Incorporated into the JOBS Act are six bills, four of which have already passed through the House with over 400 votes each, but have failed to be introduced in the Democratic-held Senate.
Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), who acts as the lead vote-counter for House Republicans, hopes Obama's support will push the Senate to bring up the package once it's made it through the House.
"I think the climate is a little different," McCarthy told reporters, "Hopefully, attitudes are a little different. And I believe maybe the attention has been based upon the Senate not doing anything doesn't bode well for those in the Senate."
It's a line that House Republicans have repeated over and again, but this time it might just work. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) has alluded to the idea that Senate Democrats may introduce their own version of the JOBS Act soon, but also has not foreclosed on the option of passing the House bill, possibly with a tweak or two.
"The president, I've met with him," Reid told reporters today, "He said he'd likely work to get something done on a bipartisan basis. We're gonna see what we can do in that regard."
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Don't care which side takes credit as long as it helps to create jobs. We are supposed to be ONE country. As the president once said, "we are not red America, we are not blue America, we are the UNITED States of America!"
Oh, and breaking football news, the Colts released Peyton Manning.
The Senate...where job bills go to die. In the spirit of keeping the Republicans from passing a jobs bill, I'm sure the Democratic led senate will just sit on it so they can keep on saying "400+ days without a jobs bill"
John Tucson- my favorite house jobs bill is hr2581 regarding the cement industry. About 2500 workers contract a form of lung cancer due to breathing in cement dust so the govt forced business to provide breathing apparatus.
Now we all know about the pent up demand for cement- I mean the building trades are backed up on jobs how many months? Business has to pay for these devices. Well thank god the House GOP has come to the rescue and called for the end of this job killing bill but those basturds in the Senate- Democrats too- refuse to pass this fine bill written by the cement industry lobbyists under the RepubliCON name. Can you believe what this commie in the white house is doing?
the republicons have nothing to offer america. they tried to do the same thing with the bill for insider trading in congress. dems have been trying to pass that bill for over a decade. 60 minutes does a program on it and the republicans jumped all over it.
What about the spirit of "reaching across the isle" as claimed by our President. It should not matter where the bill comes from but will it do the job. It is the senate that now needs to act. Tabling legislation whose intent is to create more jobs in this country is not fair to the unemployed. Let us follow the constitution when it comes to political party matters.
will Haas- where does the constitution mention political party matters? Me think you know not what you speak of
The left sure are queer ducks, wonder if senate leader reid will table this as well?
Why just the other day (AJA 4th Q 2011) democrats were saying that job ideas were the same as the right promoted in the past, now they want to balk?
Pass and sign the bill for jobs. These TEA-GOP-Republican's are seeing their futures fade if they do not do anything just months before the voter go to the polls. They want the credit for doing something. But let's all remember:
The TEA-GOP-Republican party have introduced more abortion bills in the House and in state legislatures across the nation in an effort to control the women of America. They have tried to legislate more religious laws into effect in every state house and in the nation's Capital. Their efforts to stifle gay marriage or relationships reeks of gestapo tactics. That has nothing to do with generating jobs in America nor is it any of their business. They have introduced legislation to allow more guns on the street while lowering taxes on the richest people in America. They call the"occupy Wall Street" names because they showed America the concentration of wealth in fewer and fewer people and power concentration in less generous, more controlling hands. Other efforts include numerous governmental investigations to slow down the ability of the government to function fluidly. Localities have resorted to additional fees for extra-curricular activities to pay for student education. The TEA-GOP-Republicans are so far out of touch, I'm wondering if American's are really paying attention.
Extracurricular activities are just what the name says-extra.....they are not a God given right for anyone, rich or poor. They may enhance the educational experience, but they are not the educational process. The fees collected for extracurricular activities go to support those activities, not education, and the activities you mention exist or do not exist dependent upon whether people are willing to pay additional for them. When you buy a car, you pay additionally for many features that are nice, but they are not standard equipment to the car you purchased...in like manner, there should be a minimum standard of education afforded all students and it should be similar, fair, equivalent, regardless of the school district, but nowhere is softball, basketball, soccer, theater productions and the like guaranteed to anyone without there potentially being another cost for the extra nature of the programs or services.
As for less generous and controlling hands.....that sure sounds like the government to me. The hand outs go to those who are willing to support the administration with their votes....if you disagree, things are very selfish indeed.
And as for homosexual lifestyles and partnerships, government should not be involved other than to accord the same rights in law for committed partners as is allowed for heterosexual partners. Gay couples are welcome to have their life mates (I am truly not sure what is the accepted terminology) and enjoy the property rights, tax benefits, insurance benefits accorded to married couples, but I am not sure that the government doesn't cross the line on separation of church and state to try to create a situation where the churches themselves could be compelled to perform marriages between same sex couples when it is contrary to their religious beliefs. And how does gay marriage/relationships have any connection to jobs in America???? Are our jobs being outsourced because corporations disapprove of homosexual lifestyles? Please explain your logic.
As for guns on the street. Isn't it interesting to note that in states with concealed carry permits, the number of violent crimes has decreased dramatically....the bad guys are less likely to hit the helpless little old lady over the head, if they aren't sure how helpless grandma might really be. And how does gun control have anything on the planet to do with taxes being raised or lowered as your sentence structure might suggest. And you can point to lesser percentages of taxes paid, and yet these wealthy people you speak of pay more in taxes than many of us all put together earn in the same period of time.
And how do legislators introduce abortion bills (more in the House than democrats and state legislatures according to your post) and yet they are offending you by professing a belief in right to life and that government should be protecting all life? Once again, your expression of views is very confusing and contradictory. In a free society, I can say that I feel that a person is a person and has the right to protection from the moment of conception, and you have the right to say that it isn't really a person, and the discussion and debate continues. We both have the right to state our views. If a politician believes in the right to life and demonstrates their conviction by inviting the other politicians to consider the question, discuss its merits, and perhaps render a decision....(by introducing legislation for consideration) isn't that what we sent them to do????? Why should they be villified as evil because they send a bill for consideration which is not something you would consider? Your job as a citizen is to make sure that your elected officials and representatives know exactly how you stand on these issues, so they can reflect your views in the discussion and voting phase. You also need to encourage everyone you know to do the same.
As for the "jobs bill" - if our present administration is so gung ho about passing it, there is obviously nothing controversial about it, nothing of substance, nothing that really requires any action on the part of government, other than to sit back and take credit for passing it.
Republicans have obstructed jobs legislation for fifteen months in order to prolong the suffering and blame Obama for it. For affected citizens, it is better late than never and better stolen than lost for good.
Of course Republicans are playing politics with people's lives, but the lives are more important than the politics on both sides of the aisle.
The voters will speak in November and Republicans will still be attacking the lives, fortunes, rights, dignity, and health care of Americans.