GOP Jobs Bill
With President Obama taking more shots at Congressional Republicans today, GOP Senators pushed back as they unveiled their own jobs bill, a plan that seems more likely to draw scorn than anything else from the White House.
The GOP plan includes a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution, a repeal of the Obama health reform law, medical malpractice reform and much more.
"We do have a different vision how we create jobs," said Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY). "We believe that the private marketplace creates jobs."
Earlier in the day, the President used a joint news conference with the leader of South Korea to again demand action in the Congress on jobs legislation, saying the onus is on Republicans to produce a plan and find a path to compromise.
"We're not going to wait around and play the usual political games in Washington," the President said.
Mr. Obama told reporters that he expects Senate Democrats to break his jobs bill into individual pieces and force votes on those items, again daring Republicans to oppose him.
"We're going to say let's have a vote on putting teachers back in the classroom, we're going to have a vote on rebuliding our infrastructure," as the President rattled off a series of plans that he said deserved bipartisan support.
"I don't when rebuliding our roads and bridges that are decaying suddenly became a partisan issue," Mr. Obama added.
Back at the Capitol, Republicans said they wanted to hear less campaign rhetoric from the President and more about compromise.
"There's been no outreach by the President or his people to us," said Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), who joined Sen. Paul in unveiling the GOP jobs plan.
As for the Senate Republican jobs plan, the title is the "Jobs Through Growth Act." Here are the bullet points of what the GOP wants to do:
- Balanced Budget Amendment to the Constitution
- Give the President statutory line-item veto authority
- Simplify the tax system for individuals and business
- Allow repatriation of overseas business income
- Repeal a 3% withholding requirement for those doing business with governments
- Repeal the Obama health reform law
- Medical Malpractice Reform
- Repeal the Dodd-Frank financial reform bill
- Require Congressional approval of major regulations with high costs on business
- Block new federal regulations until jobless rate drops below 7.7%
- Force small business review for all federal agency regulations
- Not allow payment of attorney's fees for groups that repeatedly sue the federal government
- Require the EPA to analyze impact of regulations on employment
- Block an EPA rule on farm dust
- Stop National Labor Relations Board suit against Boeing
- Various bills to reduce regulations by the feds
- Require the feds to speed up offshore energy exploration
- Streamline EPA involvement in offshore energy permit approvals
- Streamlines rules governing oil drilling on public lines
- Block the EPA from regulating greenhouse gases
- Remove prohibition for federal agencies to contract for alternative fuels
- Renew fast-track authority for President to renew trade agreements
