White House Economist Touts Jobs Plan, Slams GOP

By Lisa Kellman

One of the White House’s top economic officials assailed congressional Republicans on Monday for refusing to support President Obama’s American Jobs Act.

In a speech at the National Economic Club in Washington, National Economic Council Director Gene Sperling called Obama’s $447 billion package the right medicine to help boost the nation’s ailing economy.

“We need a bold immediate jobs plan and a balanced plan for long term fiscal discipline,” he said.

The president’s plan includes a mix of tax cuts and spending provisions aimed mostly at helping the struggling middle class. Obama has proposed paying for the plan by raising tax rates on those making more than $250,000 per year and establishing a higher minimum tax rate for millionaires.

The bill has seen action in the Senate, but has failed twice with Republicans and a small handul of Democrats voting against it due to a proposed offset inserted by Senate Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) that would raise taxes on millionaires.

Sperling, who said that entitlement programs should also be tweaked in order to cover the cost of the plan, said that Congress has acted too slowly on bringing down the country’s 9.1 percent jobless rate.

“Unemployment is simply too high, the projections for near term growth too weak, the risk to the economy too elevated, the national crisis of long term unemployment too profound to sit on our hands and do nothing.”

The White House estimates that the president’s bill would create nearly two million jobs and would grow the economy by up to two percent.

During his speech, Sperling also accused Republicans of failing to propose a suitable jobs plan.

“They have not even come forward with an alternative plan that any top independent forecaster could possibly estimate as spurring growth to 1 to 2 percent next year or adding 2 million new jobs,” he said.

House Republicans, however, have blamed Obama and Senate Democrats for opposing a series of job creation bills that have passed through the lower chamber. GOP leaders say that the so-called “forgotten 15” would jumpstart the economy by undoing unnecessary regulations on American businesses.

“These bills are common-sense bills that address those excessive federal regulations that are hurting small business job creation,” said Rep. Bobby Schilling (R-Ill.) over the weekend.

Boehner Claims Obama Consumed By Reelection

House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) accused President Barack Obama Wednesday of paying too much attention to the upcoming Presidential election.

“Watching the President here over the last couple of weeks has been a bit disappointing,” Boehner remarked during an appearance before the National Automobile Dealers Association. “It’s disappointing because it is pretty clear that the President has decided to forget his role as President and leader of our nation in a time of economic uncertainty to begin to campaign for his reelection some 14 months away.” 

Boehner dismissed Obama’s newly released debt plan as simple politics, adding that it will kill American jobs by raising taxes and make it more difficult for businesses to enhance the economy.

“I have been talking to the President all year about the need to do something big - the need to work together to solve our deficit and debt problem - and the fact that we could attempt to do this together would show the American people that both parties could work together on their behalf,” Boehner stated.

But the bipartisan effort did not work, according to Boehner, because Obama would not make the requested changes to entitlements that would ensure they would remain intact for future generations.

“It is time for us to lead and if the President won’t lead I can tell you that the Congress of the United States on both sides of the aisle will work together to do the right thing for our country,” Boehner said.

As Boehner concluded, he assured the audience that he was optimistic that both sides of the aisle would be able to work together to lead the nation through hard economic times.

“I grew up working in a bar, mopping floors, washing dishes and waiting tables. I learned to deal with every ‘jackass’ that walked in the door,” Boehner enumerated. “Trust me, I need all the skills I learned growing up to do my job today.” 

Highlights From Today's White House Gaggle

White House Press Secretary Jay Carney addressed reporters on a range of key issues this morning, from previewing President Obama’s jobs plan speech today in North Carolina, to yesterday’s special congressional elections in Nevada and New York, both won by Republicans, to reports suggesting that the White House inappropriately rushed millions of dollars worth of stimulus grants to energy company Solyndra, which would later go bankrupt.

The following notes are courtesy of today’s White House travel pool reporter, Carrie Budoff Brown of Politico:

Carney spoke with reporters for about 15 minutes on poll numbers, Solyndra and special elections

Highlights of the gaggle:

In his remarks, the President will announce a new memorandum directing agencies to accelerate their payments to small businesses. The goverment pays $100 billion to small businesses annually. Under the new policy, the government will cut goal in half, from 30 days to 15 days. The idea came from the jobs council.

On Bloomberg News poll showing 51 percent of Americans don’t think the jobs plan will lower unemployment: “I think that means half the American people based on that poll believe it will help create jobs and grow the economy. … The American people want Washington to take action.”

More of a sales job needed from the president?

“We are not done pressing Congress and reaching out to the American people.”

Reax to the special elections. How can they be viewed as anything other than a referendum?

“Special elections are often unique and their outcomes don’t tell you very much about future regularly scheduled elections.”

“You can make those predictions and look foolish in 14 months or not, I’m simply saying we do not view them it way (as a referendum).”

In New York, it was a special case in a specific district in a low turnout election, Carney said.

On Solyndra emails, did the admin act appropriately?

“What the emails make clear is there was urgency to make a decision on a scheduling matter. It is a big proposition to move the president or to put on an event and that sort of thing so people were simply looking for answers about whether or not people could move forward.”

The admin sees nothing wrong with accelerating the process for a scheduling need?

“It had nothing to - and there is no evidence to the contrary - nothing to do with anything besides the need to get an answer to make a scheduling decision.”

Is the president happy with the approach?

Carney said he hasn’t discussed it with the president.

Asked if there an internal review, Carney said the administration has been cooperative with Congress.