Obama Says GOP's Focus on Creating Jobs and Cutting Spending Is Irresponsible

Republicans Again Call on Speaker Pelosi to Hold Up-Or-Down Vote on Stopping All the Job-Killing Tax Hikes Before Congress Adjourns

House Republican Leader John Boehner Could the White House and Democratic leaders be more out-of-touch with the American people? Today, President Obama called the recently-released GOP Pledge to America, which is focused on creating jobs and cutting spending, “irresponsible.” If the president truly believes that cutting spending and creating jobs is “irresponsible,” it certainly explains why under his watch the national debt has topped $13.4 trillion while 14.9 million unemployed Americans continue asking ‘Where are the jobs?’

Equally out-of-touch, Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) is set to adjourn Congress without acting on bipartisan legislation to stop the job-killing tax hikes on American families and small businesses.  This morning, The Washington Post reported on the Democrats’ decision to punt on stopping the coming tax hikes before November’s election.

A recent NPR report underscores the harm Democrats’ failure to stop the looming tax hikes will have on jobs and the economy:

“Craig Dunaway, president of the Midwestern sandwich chain Penn Station East Coast Subs, isn’t sure what Congress will do about the Bush-era tax cuts that are set to expire at the end of the year. “But he knows what he’s not going to do — hire anyone. … ‘Right now, I will not grow because of the uncertainty,’ Dunaway says. ‘Personally, I will not open any more restaurants until I understand the ramifications of either increasing tax rates or keeping them the same, or what the ramifications will be to my business as a small-business owner on health care’ … “Many business owners complain that the delay comes at a time when many states are in deep financial distress and are contemplating tax holes of their own. All that only prolongs the uncertainty about their bottom line, leaving them unsure whether to invest or hire.”

Americans are demanding a return to fiscal sanity and a clear focus on jobs. Today, House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-OH) again called on Speaker Pelosi to hold an open and fair debate – and an up-or-down vote – on legislation to stop the looming tax hikes before Congress adjourns this week:

“If Democratic leaders leave town without stopping all the tax hikes, they are turning their backs on the American people. Adjourning the Congress at the end of this week without a vote to stop all the tax hikes will be a vote to raise taxes on the American people and destroy jobs. The ‘stimulus’ has failed, and more than two million Americans have lost their jobs since it was enacted. The economic uncertainty facing entrepreneurs and employers is crippling small business job creation, and it’s long past time for this Congress to act to help get the economy back on track.”

LISTENING, WORKING TOGETHER AND OFFERING BETTER SOLUTIONS Republicans have come together in support of the Pledge to America, and have called on Democrats to immediately pass it, including two key provisions needed to create jobs now – cutting non-security government spending back to pre-stimulus, pre-bailout levels and stopping all the looming tax hikes on American families and small businesses. In an appearance on Fox News Sunday yesterday, Leader Boehner said adjourning Congress without removing the uncertainty over tax hikes that is preventing small businesses from creating jobs is one of the “most irresponsible” things the Democratic-controlled Congress can do. Republicans will continue to stand with the American people and work to help create jobs by cutting spending and stopping the tax hikes.

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