Senate Dems' Choices . . .

. . . a Partisan Bill or a Bipartisan Bill backed by House GOP and the White House?

Today in Washington, D.C. - Oct 31, 2010:
The Senate reconvene at 3 PM today and took up the nomination of Stephen A. Higginson to be a judge on the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals and are scheduled to vote in the evening on the nomination.

Tomorrow, the Senate will resume consideration of H.R. 2112, the Fiscal Year 2012 Agriculture appropriations bill, which combines the FY 2012 Agriculture, Commerce-Justice-Science, and Transportation-Housing and Urban Development appropriations bills (also referred to as an Ag-CJS-THUD minibus). There may be votes on as many as 7 amendments, followed by a vote on final passage.

A new report from the World Bank shows it’s getting tougher and tougher to start a business and navigate the tax code in this country. This is a major problem for our economy, but it’s a problem we know how to solve. Later this week, members of the Republican Study Committee will roll out a jobs package that helps people start and grow their businesses by cutting through red tape, simplifies the tax code, and tears down barriers to American energy production. We’re looking to keep America open for business – and that means growing the economy, not the government.

Rep. Jim Jordan commented, "House Republicans have spent all year voting for legislation to help the economy as part of our Plan for American Job Creators. Right now, Senate Democrats are sitting on all sorts of House-passed jobs bills. It’s time they work with us to get the economy back on track."

On Wednesday, the House Republican Study Committee is expected to roll out its jobs package.

On Thursday, the House is expected to consider two bills to help job creators and entrepreneurs get access to capital (H.R. 2930 and H.R. 2940).

Roll Call writes today, “House Republicans are honing their jobs message — crafting hard-to-oppose, small-bore bills, shipping them to the Senate and daring Democrats and the White House to take up the mantle of obstructionism. The strategy paid off last week, with the White House signing on to a Republican bill eliminating a 3 percent tax withholding requirement for government contractors — a rare bill that appears likely to zoom to the president’s desk. The quick White House acquiescence came as a bit of a surprise to House and Senate Democrats, some of whom fear the president’s $447 billion jobs package will be sliced and diced to the GOP’s liking with Democratic priorities left on the cutting-room floor. But unlike many past efforts by both parties this year, the withholding bill appeared devised to become law, marrying a piece of President Barack Obama’s jobs package with a piece of his deficit reduction plan.”

Further, Roll Call notes, “Republican leaders have ramped up calls on the Senate to take up the ‘Forgotten 15’ bills they have already passed that they say would create jobs . . . they used the list and the success on the withholding bill — it passed 405-16 — to parry the White House rollout of its ‘We Can’t Wait’ message that blasts the GOP for blocking the larger jobs package and offers up a host of administrative actions aimed at producing jobs without Congress.”

On CNN’s State of the Union yesterday, David Axelrod, a former senior adviser in the Obama White House, accused Republicans, “They don't want to cooperate. They don't want to help. Even on measures to help the economy that they traditionally have supported before, like a payroll tax cut, like infrastructure, rebuilding our roads and bridges and surface transport. These -- so you have to ask you a question, are they willing to tear down the economy in order to tear down the president or are they going to cooperate?”

Yet the withholding repeal bill is something both parties can agree on to help job creators. It’s a proposal from the president’s plan and it attracted bipartisan support and over 400 votes in the House last week. If Axelrod is upset, he should really be upset at Senate Democrats, who actually filibustered an opportunity Republicans presented to take up the withholding repeal bill two weeks ago.

This week, Democrat Senate leaders have indicated they want to take up another political bill that has bipartisan opposition. Instead, they should move to the withholding repeal bill so Congress can accomplish something to help create jobs. As Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell said last week, “The Senate should take this up next week, without any poison pills, and send it to the president for his signature. . . . Let’s vote on it and prove the skeptics wrong by acting in a bipartisan fashion.”

Majority Senate Democrats have a choice: They can move to another partisan bill they know can’t pass, or they can take up a bill to help job creators that has bipartisan support and can become law.

---

Tags: US Senate, US House, bills, judicial nominee, appropriation bills, jobs bill, democrat choices  To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!