WASHINGTON — Even before President Barack Obama
unveils his jobs package this week, GOP congressional leaders returned
to Washington on Tuesday criticizing most of the proposals as
nonstarters, showing the difficult road the White House faces in getting
any legislation through the divided Congress this fall.
House
Speaker John A. Boehner, R-Ohio, and Rep. Eric Cantor, R-Va., the
majority leader, called on Obama to convene a bipartisan meeting of
congressional leaders to discuss job creation strategies before his
address to a joint session of Congress on Thursday.
And
Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said Republicans were not opposing the
White House for partisan gain, but because they disagreed with Obama’s
approach to fixing the economy.
“With all due
respect, Mr. President, there’s a much simpler reason for opposing your
economic proposals that has nothing to do with politics: They don’t
work,” McConnell said on the Senate floor.
Obama
is expected to present a package of tax breaks and infrastructure
investment to jump start the sluggish economy and put Americans back to
work.
Republicans prefer an approach that focuses
on getting rid of government regulations to spur economic growth, along
with business tax breaks.
Both sides see partisan advantage in adhering to their principles on economic issues heading toward next year’s election.
Boehner
and Cantor wrote to Obama on Tuesday that it was “critical that our
differences not preclude us from taking action in areas where there is
common agreement. We should not approach this as an all-or-nothing
situation.”
The House GOP leaders pointed to areas
of possible agreement, including the free-trade agreements with South
Korea and other countries the White House wants to enact. They also
suggested an approach to highway investments that has GOP support — by
lifting restrictions on how states use funds.
But
differences remain in the details of those policies. And many of the
president’s other likely proposals, including payroll tax breaks for
workers or tax credits for companies that make new hires, have been
panned by Republicans.
The GOP has also given a
chilly response to a new round of extended unemployment benefits for
jobless Americans — unless the aid is paid for with budget cuts
elsewhere.
White House spokesman Jay Carney said
the president continues to search for areas of common ground with
congressional leaders, even as Democrats grumble that the administration
has not sought their input for the upcoming speech.
“I’m
sure the president will be consulting with leaders of Congress going
forward as he moves forward,” Carney said. “You will see that it is a
significant proposal, but it contains ideas that have historically
garnered bipartisan support by the very members who will sit in the hall
on Thursday night.”
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©2011
Distributed by MCT Information Services
