House Dems Pivot From Debt To Jobs

By Candese Charles

A group of House Democrats gathered Tuesday to discuss how the Democratic party plans to move ahead as Congress embarks on its August recess.

Though the group displayed disappointment over the freshly-passed deal to cut spending and raise the nation’s debt limit, deficit, they appeared eager to get to work on their agenda. Rep. Steve Israel (D-N.Y.) dubbed the upcoming month, “Accountable August.”

“It was a bitter pill for us to swallow, but we did, said House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) of the laat minute deal that helped the U.S. stave off the prospect of default. “Yesterday we crossed a bridge.  Enough talk about the debt, we have to talk about jobs.”

Democrats, most of whom were upset that the deal agreed to by President Obama did not include tax increases on wealthy Americans, want to shift the focus in Washington to creating jobs and protecting entitlement programs for low-income individuals and seniors.

Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) accused Republicans in the House of failing to present a credible plan for creating jobs. Hoyer pointed to his party’s “Make It In America” plan as proof that Democrats are better equipped to bring down the country’s unemployment rate.

Shortly after the Democrats concluded their press conference, House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) sent out a tweet with a link to the GOP’s jobs proposal.