Dems frame agenda around job creation

WASHINGTON, Nov. 16 (UPI) -- Democrats in the U.S. Congress say they are moving to frame all the aspects of their political agenda around job-creation as unemployment rises.

With the prospect of a large-scale economic stimulus bill delayed until after the inauguration of U.S. President-elect Barack Obama and the seating of a new Congress where they will hold bigger majorities, Democrats are boiling their message on many issues down to "jobs, jobs, jobs," The Washington Post reported Sunday.

"People are starting to see that the loss of jobs is starting to cascade. You start reading about 2,000 people here, 900 people here, it's bam to bam to bam, and at this point, no one thinks they're immune," House Labor and Education Committee Chairman George Miller, D-Calif., told the Post. "So energy becomes about jobs as much as it is about the economy. Health care becomes about jobs as much it is about the economy."

"Jobs is the centerpiece of the agenda right now," added U.S. Rep. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md. "That's what an economic recovery is all about, putting people in America back to work."

Republicans, however, say such spending will only deter job creation by raising taxes on the wealthy.