Senate and House in a Blame Game Over Stalled Jobs Legislation
EmailWith President Obama holding events across the country highlighting Congress’ inability to pass even pieces of his jobs bill, there is a war over words going on right now between Democrats and Republicans, and the House and the Senate, over who should shoulder the blame.
House and Senate Republicans debuted a new talking point this week, highlighting a “Forgotten 15″ – job creating bills that have passed in the Republican-dominated House of Representatives but that have not been brought up for a vote in the Senate, where Democrats have a majority.
“We’re here today to call on the president to tell [Senate Majority Leader] Harry Reid to bring these bills to the Senate floor so we can get Americans back to work,” Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., told reporters today.
Senate and House Republicans listed all 15 bills to illustrate measures intended to create jobs that the House has passed.
“I call on the Senate to start taking up these House bills,” said Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchinson, R-Texas. “Let us have amendments, let us have debates. Maybe we’ll fail, but maybe we’ll succeed. Maybe we’ll craft bills that can actually pass and do something. The House has moved.”
Reid, D-Nev., has no plans to bring any of the House-passed bills to the Senate floor, and is focusing on the Democrats’ jobs and infrastructure bill instead.
Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., said the “Forgotten 15″ House Republican bills are just “ideological priorities dressed up as jobs solution,” that won’t solve the jobs crisis.
“What has the minority leader called for instead?” Schumer asked on the Senate floor. “He’s called for the Senate to take up a hodgepodge of bills sent over by House Republicans that even when taken together don’t do enough to tackle the jobs problem.”
Senate Democrats have been highlighting the inefficiencies of the House, mocking, as President Obama also did this week, the House using its time on legislation reaffirming the “In God We Trust” motto rather than on job creation.
“That extremely powerful Republican caucus they have [has done] nothing to create jobs,” Reid said today. “Can you imagine [that Wednesday] they voted on that, whether we wanted … to underline and underscore, ‘In God we trust’? They spent yesterday debating that issue in the House of Representatives. That didn’t create a single job. There is not a single United States senator that does not trust in God, that I know of.”
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The “motto” debate took up all of 35 minutes of floor time. What a bunch of whiners.
Posted by: newcountryman | November 3, 2011, 5:25 pm 5:25 pm
And it will continue until the next general election because the Republicans won’t allow Obama to give away the farm, and Obama won’t want to give up finger pointing.
Posted by: newcountryman | November 3, 2011, 6:11 pm 6:11 pm
Harry Reid said, “There is not a single United States senator that does not trust in God, that I know of.”. I say, “If they believe in God, how come they are all for Abortions”?
Posted by: Lola939 | November 3, 2011, 6:13 pm 6:13 pm
In their ‘Pledge to America’ the Republicans said that JOBS would be their number one priority. I guess they did just art good as Obama! Or maybe a lot less!
Posted by: Republicans on Jobs | November 3, 2011, 9:22 pm 9:22 pm
Both parties are to blame for this stalemate and in 2012 the voters will be so frustrated alot of these selfish self centered people will be unemployed.
Posted by: Steve | November 3, 2011, 10:15 pm 10:15 pm
It’s not legislation about jobs. It’s another Porkulous bill. What happended to the “shovel ready” jobs with the last round of stimulus? The government does not create it only consumes.
Posted by: THOMAS | November 3, 2011, 10:23 pm 10:23 pm
Talk about Government Waste, the morons we elected to Congress wasted yet another week on complete nonsense. This week it was reaffirming the national motto “In God We Trust” This was apparently more important than focusing on jobs or the economy. They also chose to ignore another urgent matter that most folks aren’t aware of…the severe shortage of some critical drugs. A colleague of mine had to delay chemotherapy because drugs are in short supply. Thankfully President Obama issued an executive order to eliminate the bottlenecks in the drug supply.
Posted by: Matt | November 3, 2011, 11:05 pm 11:05 pm
“Talk about Government Waste, the morons we elected to Congress wasted yet another week on complete nonsense. This week it was reaffirming the national motto “In God We Trust” This was apparently more important than focusing on jobs or the economy.” Again, a lot to do about nothing. Matt, The issue took a little over 1/2 hour of the House’s time. You people have got to quit sucking up that koolaid that the democrats keep handing out.
Posted by: newcountryman | November 4, 2011, 1:50 am 1:50 am
When I read these comments I am left with a sense of dispare. So much hate and so little room for real dialog. Yes, the Republicans have a number of bills that they say will create jobs though after looking at them they are more about deregulation than actual and direct action to create specific jobs. And, yes, the Democrats have bills that would fund specific projects such as infrastructure repair. But that too doesn’t mean that all the people out of work suddenly get a job. Both sides need to step back, acknowledge that there are good things in everyone’s bills and try to incorporate them into something both sides can live with, whether it be higher taxes to less regulation. Work together and lower the volume. It just divides us as a nation and that makes us weaker, not stronger.
Posted by: Tom | November 5, 2011, 9:04 pm 9:04 pm