The American Jobs Act is being sent to Congress and legislators ought to pass it immediately, President Barack Obama said Monday. According to TheStreet.com, Obama delivered the bill to Congress in a press conference where he was flanked by people of various occupations, whom he claims the $447 billion plan will help.
Obama expressed much of the same sentiments in presenting the bill as he did in Thursday’s joint session of Congress, urging the quick passage of the act.
“This is a bill that will put people back to work all across the country…based on ideas of both Democrats and Republicans,” Obama said. “No games, no politics, no delays. I’m sending this bill to Congress today and they ought to pass it immediately.”
The president highlighted several provisions of the act, included a tax credit to businesses that hire people who have been jobless for at least six months. He also stressed that the legislation is “fully paid for” and that it won’t “add a dime to the deficit,” though he has yet to provide details about that assertion.
TheStreet noted that the congressional supercommittee in charge of finding $1.5 trillion in savings will also likely be asked find additional savings for the jobs bill.
In pushing the legislation, Obama said that both independent economists and non-partisan parties have offered support for the plan and said it could “add significantly to the country’s gross domestic product and put people back to work across the nation.”
