President Barack Obama addressed a joint session of Congress and the nation on Thursday night, asking for $447 billion to focus on jobs creation. The proposal, titled the “American Jobs Act,” includes more than $250 billion in tax incentives for small businesses and employers.

The administration would spend the rest of the money on infrastructure spending, state aid, unemployment insurance and neighborhood rehabilitation. According to the President, the proposal will be paid for by spending cuts found by the super committee. Senior administration officials said that the White House plans to introduce the president’s proposal next week as a single piece of legislation.

“I am sending this Congress a plan that you should pass right away,” Obama said in his evening speech. “There should be nothing controversial about this piece of legislation. Everything in here is the kind of proposal that’s been supported by both Democrats and Republicans — including many who sit here tonight. And everything in this bill will be paid for. Everything.”

President Obama, clearly on the offensive, stated he would push this bill outside of D.C. as well. “I intend to take that message to every corner of this country,” Obama said. “I also ask every American who agrees to lift your voice and tell the people who are gathered here tonight that you want action now.

Tell Washington that doing nothing is not an option.” In all, Obama said the phrase “pass this jobs bill” eight times in his speech. In the end of his speech, Obama called for Congress to close special interest tax loopholes as one way to cover the cost of the jobs bill. “This isn’t political grandstanding,” he said. “This isn’t class warfare. This is simple math. These are real choices that we have to make.”

The president’s suggested spending totals are much smaller than the economy’s actual needs. The country faces a $2 trillion infrastructure deficit, according to Obama’s top advisers. There is an estimated $270 billion to $500 billion in backlogged school maintenance costs. The government has cut over 200,000 jobs, many of them teachers and emergency first responders.

The outlines were still heralded by Democrats as an important start, as well as a much-needed shift in a political conversation that has been dominated by budget cuts.

Share This

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

About the author

Erin Chavez
Erin Whitney-Chavez has been writing professionally since 2009. She obtained her Bachelor of Arts from St. Bonaventure University and received a Master of Arts in mental-health counseling from Argosy University. Erin Whitney-Chavez is a licensed mental health counselor and has worked in the mental-health field for more than 10 years.

Related Posts

State of the Union: Experts Comment on Women and Families’ Needs

In his State of the Union address, President Barack Obama outlined a blueprint for helping Americans in a difficult economic climate. Women and families continue to be impacted by the effects of the Great Recession and the Institute...

Roe v. Wade Anniversary Recognized at Broward Federal Courthouse

Many regard the Supreme Court decision Roe vs. Wade as a significant step forward in women’s reproductive rights. The decision, handed down in 1971, affirmatively answered the question of whether women had the right to terminate...

2012 US Election: Snapshot of What’s to Come

With the 2012 election already off to a competitive start, many presidential candidates will continue to battle for the lead in the upcoming months in several scheduled debates. Many events come next for the leading GOP Presidential...