WASHINGTON (AP) — Seeking to gain political
advantage, President Barack Obama insisted Monday that Congress vote on his
entire $447 billion economic plan this month, a step promptly rejected by
Republicans who called for both sides to find common ground in their competing
proposals to stimulate growth.
Obama demanded that Republicans spell out their
objections to his plan, expressing confidence that the public supports his call
for more spending on public works projects and on job security for teachers and
police officers.
"Ultimately, they've got to do the right thing
for the American people," Obama said of lawmakers.
Republicans have already specified which pieces of
Obama's plan they could support, and House Majority Leader Eric Cantor said
Monday that some of those measures would get a vote this month. But he said the
Republican-controlled House would not act on the president's jobs bill in its
entirety.
"This all-or-nothing approach is
unreasonable," the Virginia Republican said.
The differing approaches highlighted the challenges
facing both a president eager to deflect blame for a weak economic recovery and
congressional Republicans seeking to counter by projecting an air of
cooperation.
Since introducing the bill three weeks ago, the
president has mounted a steady public campaign, traveling to politically
important states and to districts of key Republican leaders to press for
passage. On Tuesday, Obama planned to stump for the bill in the Dallas suburbs.
Obama's jobs plan would reduce payroll taxes on
workers and employers, extend benefits to long-term unemployed people, spend
money on public works projects and help states and local governments keep
teachers, police officers and firefighters on the job. He would pay for the
plan with tax increases on wealthier Americans and by closing corporate
loopholes.
In a letter to the president Monday, House
Republican leaders said Obama's jobs bill "represents opportunities for
common ground between Democrats and Republicans." The letter asked Obama
to consider GOP regulatory measures and "that in the spirit of putting
country before party, you will call on the Senate to follow the House in
passing these measures, and commit to signing them into law should they reach
your desk."
White House officials said the president it is not
prepared to bargain at this point.
"We're not going to start off by saying, well,
let's negotiate this first piece, when in fact we've written the
legislation," White House spokesman Jay Carney said.
The tone of the day, however, signaled an opening
for passage of some economic proposals this fall. Cantor identified legislation
that the House would act on this month, including repealing a law requiring the
government to withhold 3 percent of nearly all payments made to contractors.
Republicans also have been open to Obama's proposed payroll tax cuts for
workers and employers.
Also Monday, the White House sent U.S. trade
agreements with Colombia, Panama and South Korea to Congress for ratification,
a step that House Speaker John Boehner said would "overcome a crucial
hurdle to helping put Americans back to work."
Still, the White House pressed for action on
Obama's complete bill. And in an interview with ABC on Monday, Obama said he
was gratified by the bipartisan support for the trade agreements. "But
it's not enough by itself," he said.
The president's position is delicately balanced. He
wants Republicans to share responsibility for the poor economy, but he cannot
show himself to be helpless in the face of congressional pushback.
Underscoring his difficulties, Obama conceded in
his interview with ABC that Americans are not better off today than they were
four years ago. "What we've seen," he added, "is that we've been
able to make steady progress to stabilize the economy, but the unemployment
rate is still way too high."
Senior administration officials said the White
House planned to employ a communications strategy that uses the GOP as a
scapegoat if the jobs bill doesn't pass. The officials, speaking on the
condition of anonymity to discuss political strategy, said the administration
would focus in particular on Republican House members in moderate districts.
The administration's goal, they said, it to present a picture of the Democrats
unified in pushing for the jobs bill and the Republicans in opposition.
But even some Democrats have balked at Obama's
plan. Sen. Dick Durbin, the No. 2 Democrat in the Senate, told a radio
interviewer last week that the president's bill lacked the 60 votes that are
typically needed to overcome procedural obstacles. The Illinois senator said
some of the tax measures faced resistance within his own party.
Some Senate Democrats, including West Virginia Sen.
Joe Manchin and Pennsylvania Sen. Bob Casey, have raised questions about the
size of the $447 billion package. Manchin and Casey face re-election next year.
Associated Press writers Andrew Taylor and Erica
Werner contributed to this report.
Copyright
2011 The Associated Press.
