Obama on Jobs Bill: "Where Congress Won’t Act, I Will."
In his weekly radio and Internet address on Saturday, President Barack Obama sent a strong message to Americans about his job bill: "We can no longer wait for Congress to do its job. So where Congress won't act, I will."
President Obama referenced a new report from the Congressional Budget Office as support for his proposed plan, which is a combination of tax breaks for businesses and public works spending. The report details the widening economic gap between America’s wealthiest and poorest families.
According to the report, the average after-tax income for the top 1 percent of U.S. households has skyrocketed by 275 percent over the past 30 years while middle-income households increased by only 40 percent. Households at the bottom of the economic scale saw only an 18 percent increase.
Obama said on Saturday he would pay for his $447 billion jobs bill with an added tax on people who make at least $1 million a year, and scolded Republicans for not “getting the message.”
"Now, in this country, we don’t begrudge anyone wealth or success — we encourage it. We celebrate it. But America is better off when everyone has had the chance to get ahead — not just those at the top of the income scale. The more Americans who prosper, the more America prospers,” Obama said. "Unfortunately, Republicans in Congress aren't paying attention. They're not getting the message."
The jobs plan has drawn ire from Senate Republicans, who have blocked action because they oppose much of the increased spending and tax on millionaires.
Obama’s next move has been to get Congress to pass the individual components of the bill. Last week, Senate Republicans stalled the first measure, which earmarked $35 billion to help local governments keep teachers on the job and to pay the salaries for police officers, firefighters and other emergency personnel teams.