President Barack Obama announced a new initiative on Friday to help spur job growth while also calling out Senate Republicans for blocking a tax cut that could help the economic recovery gain momentum.
Speaking with former President Bill Clinton, President Obama announced a $4 billion energy efficiency initiative that would result in fuel and energy savings for government and private sector buildings. It would not cost taxpayers anything because it would pay for itself over the course of a few years and more importantly, he said, it would help create jobs for thousands of construction workers throughout the country.
“Making our buildings more energy efficient is one of the fastest, easiest and cheapest ways for us to create jobs, save money and cut down on harmful pollutants,” President Obama said. “It is a trifecta, which is why we have labor and business behind it.”
The goal is to improve energy performance by 20 percent by 2020. The federal government will commit $2 billion with corporations, labor unions, universities, local governments and hospitals chipping in to provide the other $2 billion. Gene Sperling, director of the White House National Economic Council, said private economic analyses showed the plan could create as much as 50,000 jobs over the next two years.
Of course, the energy plan was the main focus of the event but the president also did not miss out on an opportunity to blast Senate Republicans for blocking an extension of the payroll tax cut on Thursday that would help the economy by putting money into the pockets of roughly 160 million Americans in 2012. He urged Congress to pass the tax cut extension and unemployment aid and warned them that it would not be a merry Christmas for them if they did not.
“Failure to take either of these steps would be a significant blow to our economy,” he said. “Now is not the time to slam the brakes on the recovery. Right now it’s time to step on the gas. I expect that it’s going to get done before Congress leaves. Otherwise, Congress may not be leaving, and we can all spend Christmas here together.”
He said helping the middle class was necessary for a prosperous economy and reminded people what times were like under the policies of President Clinton.
“When Bill Clinton was president, we didn’t shortchange investment,” he said. “We didn’t say we’re going to cut back on the things that we know are going to help us grow in the future. We didn’t make decisions that put the burden on the middle class or the poor.
“We lived within our means. We invested in our future. We asked everyone to pay their fair share. And you know what happened? The private sector thrived. Jobs were created. The middle class grew [and] its income grew. Millions rose out of poverty. We ran a surplus. We were actually on track to be able to pay off all of our debt. We were firing on all cylinders. We can be that nation again. We will be that nation again.”
Like what you read? Want to read more about issues related with Democrats either nationally or in California?
Click SUBSCRIBE at the top of the page to receive email alerts when new articles are published.
Other articles Amanda has written can be found here.
If you have other ideas or tips on political news stories Amanda can or should cover, she can be emailed at AGG12587@aol.com.
Comments