WASHINGTON: US President Barack Obama laid out a $447 billion jobs package of tax cuts and government spending on Thursday that will be critical to his re-election chances but he faces an uphill fight with Republicans.
With his poll numbers at new lows amid voter frustration with 9.1% unemployment, Obama said in a high-stakes address to Congress that the United States is in a "national crisis" and called for urgent action on sweeping proposals to revive the stalled economy and avert another recession.
"Those of us here tonight can't solve all of our nation's woes," Obama said in a nationally televised prime-time speech. "But we can help. We can make a difference. There are steps we can take right now to improve people's lives."
Taking aim at Republicans who have consistently opposed his initiatives, Obama said it was time to "stop the political circus and actually do something to help the economy."
Obama, who pushed through an $800 billion economic stimulus package in 2009, said his jobs plan would cut taxes for workers and businesses and put more construction workers and teachers on the job through infrastructure projects. "It will provide a tax break for companies who hire new workers and it will cut payroll taxes in half for every working American and every small business," he said.
Obama is seeking to seize the initiative in his bitter ideological battle with Republicans, ease mounting doubts about his economic leadership and turn around his presidency just 14 months before voters decide whether to give him a second term.
Obama wants Congress to pass his "American Jobs Act" -- which administration officials said would cost $447 billion -- by the end of this year and offset the cost with deficit cuts. But a deal may be hard to achieve with politicians already focusing on the presidential and congressional elections in November 2012.
If Obama can push through his plan, it might provide an economic boost quickly enough for him to reap political benefits. If it stalls in a divided Congress, his strategy will be to blame Republicans for obstructing the economic recovery.
Obama said his proposed plan would "provide a jolt to an economy that has stalled and give companies confidence that if they invest and hire there will be customers for their products and services."
"You should pass this jobs plan right away," he said in a speech interrupted by applause from his fellow Democrats while Republicans sat mostly in silence.
Obama proposed extending unemployment insurance at a cost of $49 billion, modernizing schools for $30 billion and investing in transportation infrastructure projects for $50 billion.
10 Sep, 2011, Reuters
Times of India