GOP Actions Speak Louder Than Words on Working Together to Create Jobs
Katie Grant, Daniel Reilly, 202-225-3130
With no comprehensive jobs plan and little action taken to help put more Americans back to work, Republicans signaled willingness in September to find common ground on job creation after hearing from their constituents over August that they wanted to see bipartisan cooperation:
Speaker Boehner: “We know that the two parties aren’t going to agree on everything, but the American people want us to find common ground, and I’ll be looking for it.” [ABC, 09/08/11]
Majority Leader Cantor: “We have to focus on areas of commonality and try to transcend differences here.” [Washington Post, 09/08/11]
But instead of working on the American Jobs Act, Republicans wasted time on bills that have more to do with ideology than helping create jobs:
- They passed the TRAIN Act, which rolls back critical clean
air protections and undermines the Clean Air Act.
- They pursued a partisan bill to fund the government
that put both jobs and disaster relief at risk.
- And now, they’re considering a pair of bills that would
delay important new regulations on cement factories
and boilers that protect against pollutants and could
result in tens of thousands of premature deaths.
And considering Leader Cantor’s comments yesterday, the outlook for October doesn’t look promising:
“House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) on Monday declared President Obama’s $447 billion jobs package is dead, flatly rejecting Obama's plea for passage by the end of the month… Asked directly if the bill was dead as a comprehensive package, Cantor replied, ‘Yes.’”
But there is no reason why Republicans shouldn’t take action on the American Jobs Act right away. The American Jobs Act includes bipartisan proposals and will help put Americans back to work, without adding to the deficit, by:
- Providing tax cuts to small businesses so they
can expand and hire - Putting workers back on the job by rebuilding and modernizing infrastructure, schools and homes and businesses in our communities
- Helping unemployed Americans support their families
and reforming the unemployment insurance system - Putting more money back in the pockets of workers
and familiesacross the country
Rather than cling to their ideological agenda, it’s time for Republicans to work with Democrats on the American Jobs Act so we can grow our economy and give Americans what they want: jobs.