U.S. President Barack Obama speaks during a press conference in the East Room at the White House in Washington, Oct. 6, 2011. UPI/Kevin Dietsch |
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WASHINGTON, Oct. 8 (UPI) -- President Barack Obama Saturday said the jobs bill he proposed "can help guard against another downturn here in America" and urged Republicans to support it.
In his weekly radio address, the president said as the U.S. Senate prepares to vote on the American Jobs Act next week, Congress should not engage in "the usual games or political gridlock in Washington." He said the bill "will put more people to work and put more money in the pockets of working Americans" and "provide our economy with the jolt that it really needs right now."
"The challenges facing financial markets around the world could have very real effects on our own economy at a time when it's already fragile," Obama said. "But this jobs bill can help guard against another downturn here in America."
The president -- as he has on several occasions during the past few weeks -- challenged Republicans to "prove it" if they "think they have a better plan for creating jobs right now."
"So any senator out there who's thinking about voting against this jobs bill needs to explain why they would oppose something that we know would improve our economic situation," he said.
"You hear a lot of our Republican friends say that one of the most important things we can do is cut taxes," Obama said. "Well, they should love this plan. The American Jobs Act would cut taxes for virtually every worker and small business in America. And if you're a small business owner that hires new workers, raises wages, or hires a veteran, you get an additional tax cut"
Figures provided by the Labor Department indicate layoffs of public employees account for a significant portion of the unemployment rate. Obama said the American Jobs Act "will put a lot of these men and women back to work."
"There are too many people hurting in this country for us to simply do nothing," he said. "The economy is too fragile for us to let politics get in the way of action."
He called on Americans to "keep making your voices heard in Washington. I need you to remind these folks who they work for. And I need you to tell your Senators to do the right thing by passing this jobs bill right away."
