Obama Absent While Others Focus on Jobs And Job Creators

Today in Washington, D.C. - December 2, 2011:
The Senate is in recess until Monday, when it will take up four district judge nominees.

Last night, Democrats failed to get the 60 votes needed for their payroll tax cut extension that included an “anti-growth” surtax job creators said “would seriously impair our ability” “to put our unemployed back to work.” Following that vote, a Republican payroll tax cut extension that also would have reduced the deficit by $111 billion and trimmed the size of the federal government failed to get 60 votes as well.

Also last night, the Senate voted 93-7 to pass S. 1867, the Fiscal Year 2012 Defense Authorization bill. Prior to final passage, senators rejected two amendments from Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) that would have stripped language requiring captured terror suspects affiliated with al Qaeda to be held in military custody. The Senate then voted 99-1 to adopt a different amendment from Feinstein clarifying that the detainee language wouldn’t apply to U.S. citizens.

In addition, an amendment to the Defense bill offered by Sens. Mark Kirk (R-IL) and Bob Menendez (D-NJ) to impose stricter sanctions on the Central Bank of Iran was adopted 100-0 and an amendment offered by Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL) to clarify that the president retains the option to use military detention for suspects captured in Afghanistan was rejected by a vote of 41-59.

Yesterday, the House passed (263-159) the Regulatory Flexibility Improvements Act (H.R. 527) which give more weight to the impact of federal regulations on small businesses and closes the loopholes in present law that has permitted federal agencies to ignore the effects new regulations have on job creators.  Agencies would be required to look for alternatives where analysis shows a proposed rule would have a significantly harmful economic impact and the indirect impact the proposed rule on job creators especially small businesses.

Yesterday, the House also passed (235-190)  H.R. 3463 a bill to end public financing of presidential campaigns and the political party conventions.  The Congressional Budget Office has said eliminating public financing would save $617 million over 10 years.  President Obama did not use any of these funds in his 2008 race and none of the present candidates are using these funds. 

Today, the House passed ( 253-167) the Regulatory Accountability Act (H.R. 3010 which would amend current law in several ways. Most notably, it requires federal agencies to examine the costs and benefits of proposed rules, ensure more transparency in the regulation proposal process, and give stakeholders greater voice when major rules are being considered. While the Obama administration opposes this bill, President Obama’s said in one of his executive orders earlier this year that the regulatory process should promote economic growth. Rep. Tim Griffin (R-AR) said on the bill, “Republicans in Congress took the president’s words to heart. We said, ‘Hey, you’re right, Mr. President. We’re going to do something about it.’”

The New York Times reports today, “The American unemployment rate unexpectedly dropped to its lowest level in two and a half years in November, despite the many global crises batting against the economy. . . . Still, serious concerns remain about the economy’s ability to weather a potential meltdown in Europe. . . . And the decline in the unemployment rate had a down side: It fell partly because more workers got jobs, but also because about 315,000 workers dropped out of the labor force. That left the share of Americans actively participating in the work force at a historically depressed 64 percent, down from 64.2 percent in October.”

Council of Economic Advisors Chairman Alan Krueger acknowledged on the White House blog this morning that “the pace of improvement is still not fast enough given the large job losses from the recession that began in December 2007.”

Today’s economic news underscores the need to create more jobs in the United States. As Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell said yesterday, “The Keystone XL Pipeline is the single-largest shovel-ready project in the entire country. It would transport oil from Canada to the Gulf Coast. It’s privately funded, so it wouldn’t cost a dime in taxpayer dollars. And we’re told that its approval would lead to the creation of 20,000 jobs immediately. This project is enormous. It’s a huge job-creator. And it’s ready to go.”

>And American labor unions are demanding the pipeline, saying, as the AFL-CIO’s Mark Ayers did, “it is America's workers who are clamoring for the expedited approval of this important project. As President Obama has rightfully declared when it comes to the creation of jobs, ‘WE CAN’T WAIT.’” Teamsters President James Hoffa said, “The Keystone Pipeline project will offer working men and women a real chance to earn a good wage and support their families in this difficult economic climate. . . . Investment projects like Keystone Pipeline will go a long way toward helping our country down the road to economic recovery.” International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers president said, “At a time when jobs are the top global priority, the Keystone project will put thousands back to work and have ripple benefits throughout the North American economy.” And Terry Sullivan, General President of the Laborers’ International Union of North America, said the Keystone XL project is “not just a pipeline, but is a lifeline for thousands of desperate working men and women.”

As Sen. John Thune (R-SD) said on Wednesday, “The reason it’s not moving forward is because the president has put his political agenda, and his job ahead of jobs for American workers. . . . There is no other rational reason why this project should not be advancing given all the work that's already been put into it. . . . So it's a no-brainer. I mean, you sit back, and you look at this thing. And the only conclusion you can draw is that the president has concluded that this is not in his own political best interest. But it's clearly in the best interests of the American people. Clearly in the best interest of the American economy. Clearly in the best interest of our energy security needs.”

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Tags: Barack Obama, no jobs, jobs, job creators, Keystone XL Pipeline, Regulatory Accountability, Regulatory Flexibility Improvements To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!