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Senate Democrats seek new economic stimulus
Senate Majority leader Harry Reid (D-NV)(R) makes remarks as Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY) listens during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington, April 14, 2011.
Credit: Reuters/Jim Young
WASHINGTON |
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Democrats in the Senate on Wednesday called on Vice President Joe Biden to include new economic stimulus spending in deficit-reduction talks as a way of lowering the 9.1 percent jobless rate that is hobbling the economic recovery.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid made the proposal to the White House, Richard Durbin, the No. 2 Democratic senator, told reporters.
"The Republicans are fixating on the budget deficit and it's a serious problem," Durbin said.
But citing the conclusions of a presidential deficit-cutting commission that he served on last year, Durbin added, "Get the recovery right before you get in this deficit cutting mode ... get people back to work. Let's start moving in that direction."
A senior Democratic aide said the job-creation idea Senate Democrats are now pursuing represented a pivot in the deficit-reduction negotiations.
He said the idea presented to the White House has three components to help create jobs: new infrastructure spending, a payroll tax cut and support for clean energy jobs.
He did not say how large the infrastructure spending proposal would be. In 2009, President Barack Obama won enactment of an $814 billion economic stimulus that Republicans opposed as wasteful spending.
The aide said the White House appeared to support extending the current payroll tax cut for employees, although there has been discussion on Capitol Hill of also expanding that tax cut to employers.
Biden is to return to the Senate on Wednesday for another meeting with the bipartisan group of lawmakers looking for ways to significantly reduce deficits. A deep cut in spending -- in the neighborhood of $4 trillion over a decade -- is a Republican requirement for allowing a vote to increase U.S. borrowing authority that is hitting up against a $14.3 trillion limit.
The group is facing an August 2 deadline for resolving the debt limit problem and thinks that it needs to make some decisions within the next few days in order to give the Senate and House of Representatives enough time to write and pass spending cut and debt limit legislation.
Durbin told reporters he thought that effort could become a "two-step" process containing a "serious down payment on the deficit" followed by more work on long-term savings.
"We're just not going to be able to accomplish (all of) it by August 2," Durbin said.
The Biden group has aimed to raise borrowing authority by enough to get through 2012 and next year's presidential and congressional elections.
"I hope Vice President Biden can get an agreement that takes us through the election. I don't know if he can," Durbin said.
(Editing by Jackie Frank)
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Biden said the idea presented to the White House has three components to help create jobs: “new infrastructure spending, a payroll tax cut and support for clean energy jobs”.
Its as if these guys are on a merry-go-round and havent learned a thing over the last few years.
First, infrastructure spending is temporary, and we need full time jobs in “for-profit” industry. When the infrastructure is built, the machinery and jobs are gone. It does not solve long term unemployment, and as government funded projects, usually go to a small group of skilled, union employees which does nothing for the average Joe.
Second, a reduction in the payroll tax will have next to zero effect. What business needs is a massive reduction in the incomprehensible, convoluted and contradictory regulations they are trying to operate in. Start by shelving the mess called Obamacare.
Third, we don’t need “clean energy” jobs, we need JOBS! Clean energy is a limited market, with a high level of risk, totally dependent on on continuous government funding. It is NOT a source of solid middle class working Joe employment.
Biden, Obama and the clowns in the White House have no clue what the economy needs to help the average person. Time to vote these incompetent jokers back to the ‘hood in Chicago before they cause any more damage to the economy.
Looks like a sad case of intellectual inbreeding to me.
And like all inbreeding, the longer it goes on the worse the outcome.
Time to fire all these “experts” and give them nice honest jobs. Something like cleaning out a cow barn with a tooth brush sounds about right.
At least when they were done the finally would be experts in bovine feces distribution.
Right now they are all so dense they forget that you don’t have to be a farmer to smell bullshite…
The two previous comments are useless and counterproductive by people who have their jobs and have no idea what is going on in the economy. If you have something useful to contribute do so. Name calling and insults help no one and certainly does not make you sound like a serious person. The tone of your comments indicate you favor republican ideas. Where are they? Have you seen any republicans in congress, the business community come up with any sensible and executable ideas? The economy is facing structural difficulties mainly the result of bad policies mostly by republican administrations. Just look at the facts and take the emotions out for a minute and you will see that both short and long term solutions are needed including investment in new industries like clean energy to create lasting jobs. Wake up get real tax cuts and zero enforcement of regulations is what brought us to this economic misery. Just dial back 10 years ago when Bush was elected and see that misdirected tax cuts and NO regulations does NOT work!!
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