With a country in despair and a re-election around the corner, President Obama proposed the American Jobs act on Thursday 13th to a joint session in congress. The President’s reason for this speech seemed far from wanting to get re-elected, but instead focused on the millions of Americans that currently need jobs.

He stated that the proposed bill was “simple” and elaborated by emphasizing that its main goal was simply to get people working again. The main goal of this $477 billion dollar jobs plan is focused around small businesses that are struggling, moving away from big businesses that were able to bounce back successfully in the recession.

The bill will ultimately provide, “a tax break for companies that hire new workers, and it will cut payrolls in half for every working American and every small business.” The President also included his recent agreement, which was put in place to cut government spending by $1 trillion within the next 10 years, as well as reduce spending in congress.

Present Obama almost seemed desperate for some kind of agreement in congress to get this bill passes as soon as possible. Along with repeatedly saying “pass this bill now,” He added, “there should be nothing controversial about this piece of legislation.”

He continued on to say, “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.” He even discussed how Republicans have proposed the same payroll tax cut as seen in his American Jobs Act, to hopefully appeal to republicans in congress.

Mr. Obama hoped that it would be helpful to add examples of why congress should agree and pass this bill. He made references to previous bills that were similar and which both democrats and republicans agreed on. He also tried to tie the two parties together when he said that the bill came from ideas from both a Texas Republican as well as a Massachusetts Democrat.

Republicans responded that the essential proposal was nothing new and simply a scheme for re-election. Many didn’t even attend the President’s speech in attempts to “boycott” it. Senate minority Leader, Mitch McConnell, a republican from Kentucky said, “This isn’t a jobs plan. It is a re-election plan.”

On the other hand, Republican Speaker John Boehner showed an open mind and focused on the creation of jobs rather than the speech itself. He said, “I’m hopeful that after the president gives his speech that we’ll be able to sit down, in a bipartisan way, and fine common ground that will help improve our economy, and improve the job picture for the American people.”

The President is out to end the “political circus’ in congress, and unfortunately, American workers will see no change unless the President and congress find common ground.

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About the author

Samantha Steinberg
A Junior at Rutgers University studying political science and communication. Interests include writing, international affairs, and travel. I hope to make a difference in the world and raise awareness through my writing.