Protesters Occupy Congress Demanding Jobs

By Andrea Salazar

Demanding good jobs for the 99 percent, protesters from around the country took their message to members of Congress Tuesday as part of the “Take Back the Capitol” rally.

Elbridge James, president of the board at Progressive Maryland, one of the participating organizations, said the group is in support of a plan to put people back to work at a time when the unemployment rate sits at 8.6 percent.

“We need our congressional representatives to work with the executive branch to come up with a jobs plan that puts people back to work,” James said. “In the interim, we need the extension of the unemployment benefits, so people have a floor that they can stand on and not be afraid of not being able to provide for their children.”

A group from Houston held a sit-in at Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison’s (R-Texas) office chanting “this is what democracy looks like” and “we are the 99 percent.” They met with Hutchison’s legislative director, but came to no agreement. The group promised to stay in the office until the senator agreed to meet with them.

Hutchison’s staff called the meeting “civil,” but said the senator would not be changing her position against the president’s jobs bill.

Other protesters visited the offices of Sens. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Rob Johnson (R-Wisc.). CNN reported protests at other offices on the Hill, including Sens. Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.), Dean Heller (R-Nev.) and Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) and Reps. John Boehner (R-Ohio) and Steny Hoyer (D-Md.).

Most of the protesters were older individuals who were unemployed or underemployed. They said they funded their visits with donations and sponsorships from activist groups.

“Take Back The Capitol” is a week-long event by community, labor and Occupy organizations from across the country. For more information about the demonstrations, visit their website.

Janie Amaya contributed to this story.

GOP Leaders Downplay Dip In Jobless Rate

House GOP leaders downplayed the dip in the nation’s unemployment rate from 9 percent to 8.6 percent Friday morning, the lowest recorded rate in nearly three years.

“Today’s unemployment numbers certainly look good on its surface,” House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) said at a Friday press conference. “If you look at the number of new jobs created, there’s just not enough new jobs being created in America.”

According to the latest unemployment numbers, the economy added 120,000 jobs in November. Despite seeing jobs totals reach at least 100,000 in the past three months - September numbers were revised showing 210,000 new jobs were added, an uptick of 52,000 from the initial report - House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) voiced his concern over the period of time in which the jobless rate has remained above 8 percent. 

“The jobless rate in our country is still unacceptably high, Boehner said. “Today marks the 34th consecutive month of unemployment above eight percent.”

Though Republican leaders welcomed the dip in the unemployment rate as “good news,” they remained skeptical of Obama’s economic agenda. Boehner used the opportunity to call on President Obama and the Democratic-controlled Senate to take up 25 House-passed bills, all of which are considered job creators by House Republicans.

“It is time for the president to admit, after being able to enact all the major tenants of his agenda… that ultimately his policies are not working,” Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas) said. “We would ask Mr. President to please asks Mr. Reid to pass our jobs bills.”

Hoyer: Balanced Budget Amendment Unnecessary

By Adrianna McGinley

House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) today criticized Republican efforts to pass a Balanced Budget Amendment.

Although reporters noted that he supported a Balanced Budget Amendment in the 1990s, Hoyer said he no longer does because of fiscal “irresponsibility” on the part of Republican leadership over the last decade.

“What I said in 1995 I absolutely agree with today,” Hoyer said. “Unfortunately, I did not contemplate the irresponsibility that I have seen fiscally over the last 9 years or 8 years of the Bush administration and Republican leadership in the House and the Senate.”

Hoyer said Congress should be focused on finding ways to pay for the deficit, not passing constitutional amendments.

“The tough votes are paying for things, it’s not a tough vote to pretend you’re going to go for a balanced budget by having some amendment on the floor…if you want to cut revenues, make sure that you have the guts to cut spending…if you don’t have that kind of courage then don’t criticize others for saying we have to pay for things.”

Hoyer said, however, that he believes the so-called “super committee” tasked with creating a plan to reduce the nation’s deficit will meet its Thanksgiving deadline.

“Time is short but not so short that agreement can’t be reached,” he said. Failure, he added, is not an option because the billions in automatic cuts to domestic and defense spending that would result are “irrational and bad policy.”

Hoyer said that the U.S. has the resources to solve its problems but lacks “the courage and the will to do so.”

VIDEO: DC Occupiers Take Aim At EPA

By Lisa Kellman

Occupy Washington DC protestors carried crosses and laid three wreaths in front of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) building Thursday to mock memorialize the death of clean air and environmental justice.

Protestors accused the EPA of supporting the proposed Keystone XL oil pipeline and failing to fully implement regulations within the Clean Air Ac.

“The environment is central to everything we’re fighting for,” said Occupy Washington DC organizer Kevin Zeese. “The government’s corruption and lack of oversight is letting the EPA get away with mucking up the environment.”

The protestors blamed EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson and President Obama for bowing to corporate pressures and failing to protect the environment.

They blew whistles and chanted, “Blow the Whistle on Lisa Jackson.”

The changes proposed to the Clean Air Act would regulate cross-state smog pollution and other environmental hazards. However, reforms have stalled in Congress.

Republicans and some Democrats from energy-producing states have argued that new rules would destroy millions of jobs. Such lawmakers have instead called for boosting domestic oil production, a move the protestors said would do more harm to the environment then create jobs.

“They’ll be hiring 2,000 people in each state to do work for about three months…the figures on employment are totally wrong on that [Keystone] pipeline,” said Ann Wright a protestor and retired U.S Army Colonel.

Senate Dem Thinks GOP Opposition To Jobs Plan Will Wear Down

By Andrea Salazar

After a Republican filibuster put an end to President Obama’s jobs package as a whole, Senate Democrats are breaking it up into separate bills. 

The first component to make it to the floor will be a bill to protect and create jobs for teachers and first responders, Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) told reporters during a conference call Wednesday.

The Teachers and First Responders Back to Work Act would set aside $35 billion for job creation and protection in education and emergency services. As Brown told TRNS, the wording in the legislation requires state and local governments to use the proposed grant money only to retain or hire employees in those areas by September 2013.

The bill would be paid for by a 0.5 percent surtax on individuals with incomes of more than $1 million. Senate Democrats expect the bill to protect and create 400,000 jobs in education.

“A small number of people pay this and the benefit is community-wide all over the country,” Brown said. “We’re not asking for much sacrifice from them, and it will mean so much to the public interest, to public safety and our education.”

Brown had a teacher, fire chief and sheriff as guests on his conference call to discuss the need for the bill. All three agreed that there was not enough funding for the work required of them. 

“If we wait another year, this is kids that aren’t taught and people that aren’t hired with middle class salaries and fires that can’t be responded to as quickly and sheriffs and police departments not responding  as quickly as they should be able to,” Brown said.

More bills are forthcoming breaking down the president’s jobs bill, Brown said.