Just over a year ago this week, President Obama announced the Administration’s three month victory lap to celebrate the “success” of his stimulus plan. It was supposed to be the “Recovery Summer,” as the President coined it. Looking back, however, he should have called it the Lost Summer. If the President fails to work with House leadership, we will be facing Lost Summer, Part 2.
A year later, the economic situation hasn’t improved one bit. Unless the Administration’s idea of a “Recovery Summer” is a loss of 1.9 million jobs and an unemployment rate of 9.1 percent, President Obama’s plan failed miserably. The Administration offers only excuses behind the high unemployment rate. They blame the Bush Administration’s economic policies. Yet, the current Administration has been in power for two and a half years. It’s time for the President to take ownership of the economic future of this country. The Administration then blames Congress for its woes. Yet, House Republicans have put forward an extensive plan to create jobs immediately and sustain our long-term economic future. It’s time for the President to put aside partisan brinksmanship and to work with us to put forward a solution.
We’ve also heard a lot of talk about a “jobless recovery.” Some officials are pointing to a growing GDP as signs of an improving economy. But, an anemic growth rate of 1.8 percent in the 1st quarter of 2011 isn’t putting Americans back to work. Americans don’t feel the “recovery” because they are still out of work. Businesses are afraid to hire because they fear higher taxes and more regulations. As more and more of the Obama health care law takes effect, employers are cutting back or seeking waivers from the bill’s extremely onerous regulations. If you look back at the President’s statements on the health care bill, he told the American people it would create 4 million jobs, 400 thousand of which would be “almost immediately.” A year later, where are those jobs?
The Administration’s solution is to put more and more people on welfare rolls. There are now roughly 45 million Americans receiving welfare, the highest number in U.S. history. That equates to about 15 percent of the entire U.S. population who cannot afford to provide for the basic needs of their families.
The time for excuses has come to an end. The President and the Senate need to work with House Republicans to sign into law a solution that will put Americans back to work. We’ve passed bills to repeal tax increases found in the health care bill. We’ve passed bills to prevent tax hikes for at least two years. We’ve passed bills to limit the reach of executive regulations that stifle business development. We’ve passed a budget that would reduce federal spending significantly and instead invest in free-market enterprise and private business, the very foundation of our nation.
It’s all about the jobs. House Republicans are focused on job creation, job growth, and job stability. I challenge my Senate colleagues and the President to do the same. Let’s put aside partisan rhetoric and hollow phrases like “Recovery Summer” and instead concentrate more on putting people back to work. Americans don’t want another summer gimmick. They want a steady job, a sound economic policy, and a secure future for our country.
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