House Dems Urge Super Committee To See Past Gridlock, Pass Jobs Bill

By Andrea Salazar

House Democratic Caucus Chair John Larson (D-Conn.) called on the Joint Select Committee to break through the partisan gridlock that has become the new era of politics on Capitol Hill.

Following this summer’s debt ceiling debacle, the “super committee” was tasked by President Obama with cutting $1.5 trillion from the nation’s deficit over the next decade. The committee must reach consensus on where to cut spending by Thanksgiving before automatic cuts take effect. 

“This Congress by acting together, this super committee by coming together, could demonstrate, not only to the people of this country but everybody around the world, what we need to do,” Larson said. “I guarantee you that money and investment would then flow to this country because we would establish ourselves as a place where you can park your money, where you can do business and where we can create the kind of stability that we need.”

Fellow Democratic Reps. Kathy Hochul (N.Y.) and Charlie Gonzalez (Texas) echoed Larson’s concern for the “super committee,” and went even further, pushing Congress to move on the president’s jobs plan in its piecemeal form.

Hochul offered her endorsement for the upcoming infrastructure provision of Obama’s jobs bill, explaining that, in her home state of New York, the bill would have an immediate impact on those struggling. 

“I’m putting this Congress on notice that if something happens to one of my bridges and we had the ability through this jobs act to provide infrastructure money to fix my bridges…well I’m sorry folks, you were forewarned,” Hochul said.

Dems React To Boehner's Resistance On China Bill

By Adrianna McGinley

House Republicans must schedule a vote on a bill addressing Chinese currency manipulation, said Rep. Sander Levin (D-Mich.) and other House Democrats on Tuesday.

The House Ways and Means Committee ranking Democrat and other supporters of the bill said the legislation would create jobs in the U.S.

“There’s been no jobs legislation that has come out of the Republican majority here,” Levin said. “This is a jobs bill, and it is coming over most certainly from the Senate, and so the question will be whether the House leadership will let us vote on it. They know if it comes up for a vote, it will pass.”

Democrats who spoke took issue with House Speaker John Boehner’s (R-Ohio) assertion that the bill would be “dangerous” for Congress to take up.

“This is a message from the Republican party, from Speaker Boehner, to all those small and medium size manufacturers all across the industrial Midwest that your help…is dead on arrival,” said Rep. Tim Ryan (D-Ohio). “The Republican party no longer represents the small and medium size manufacturer.”

Levin said his years of experience in trade dismiss concerns from critics who say the bill could lead to a “trade war” with China. Levin said American businesses are already on an uneven playing field with the industrial powerhouse.

Rep. Jim McDermott (D-Wash.) heavily criticized Republicans for not acting on the bill, saying they are inhibiting economic recovery.

“They don’t want Barack Obama to have one bit of success,” said the ranking member of the House Trade Subcommittee. “They will do anything to our economy in order to prevent him from having any lessening of the unemployment rate in this country.”

Rep. John Larson (D-Conn.) agreed, saying Congress not only needs to act on this bill, but also on the president’s jobs bill, and he urged reporters to ask Republicans “why won’t you take up the job creation bills?”