Obama unveils $447 b job plan
US President Barack Obama has unveiled a whopping US$447 billion package of tax cuts and spending plans to create new jobs and revive the sluggish economy, asking lawmakers to stop the ''political circus'' by immediately passing his proposal.
Facing low approval ratings and constant Republican criticism ahead of his re-election campaign, Obama, in a blunt address to a joint session of Congress, said the lawmakers should put the good of the nation over political wrangling.
Obama, who had to push his joint address by a day because the Republican-majority House could not agree on the date, urged the Congressmen to “stop the political circus and actually do something to help the economy” by quickly approving the US$447 billion package of measures so he can sign it into law.
“Millions of Americans who are watching right now, they don’t care about politics. They have real-life concerns. Many have spent months looking for work,” he said in his 32-minute speech.
“The people of this country work hard to meet their responsibilities. The question tonight is whether we’ll meet ours. The question is whether, in the face of an ongoing national crisis, we can stop the political circus and actually do something to help the economy,” Obama said.
Obama also told legislators that they should quickly pass his plan, called the American Jobs Act. “I am sending this Congress a plan that you should pass right away,” Obama said.
