Statement of Administration Policy: S. 1660 - American Jobs Act of 2011

(Senate)

(Sen. Reid, D-Nevada)

The Administration strongly supports prompt and favorable action by the Congress on the American Jobs Act of 2011, which will create jobs and get the economy moving. S. 1660 contains all of the jobs measures that were submitted to the Congress by the President last month. These are the kinds of proposals supported by both Republicans and Democrats. S. 1660 will put more people back to work and put more money in the pockets of working Americans, and it will do so without adding a dime to the deficit.

First, the American Jobs Act of 2011 provides tax cuts for small businesses and puts more money in the pockets of working and middle class Americans by cutting in half the payroll tax that comes out of the paycheck of every worker. Second, S. 1660 puts Americans back to work, including teachers, first responders, veterans, and construction workers. Third, the American Jobs Act of 2011 helps out-of-work Americans by extending unemployment benefits and reforming the system to help people get back to work. It also supports training and unemployment programs to help the unemployed build key skills and connect to real jobs. The bill also bans employers from discriminating against the unemployed when hiring and expands job opportunities for low-income youth and adults.

S. 1660 is fully paid for through a surtax on those making over $1 million per year. The Administration submitted an alternative set of offsets that would have cut back unjustified tax expenditures and loopholes. However, what is most important is putting Americans back to work right now and making sure the debt is not increased over time—and doing so in a way that is fair. S. 1660 meets that test. Moreover, this surtax could ultimately be replaced by a broader tax reform consistent with the President’s principles of cutting rates, cutting spending through the tax code, cutting the deficit, increasing economic growth, and increasing fairness by ensuring that no household making over $1 million should pay a smaller share of its income in taxes than middle-class families pay.

The American people understand that the economic crisis and the deep recession were not created overnight and will not be solved overnight. The economic security of the middle class has been under attack for decades. The Administration believes that the Nation needs not only to recover from this economic crisis, but to rebuild the economy the American way, based on balance, fairness, and the same set of rules for everyone from Wall Street to Main Street. By enacting S. 1660, the Congress and the President can work together to create the jobs of the future by helping small business entrepreneurs, working and middle-class Americans, and the unemployed Americans searching for work, and by investing in the Nation’s education and infrastructure.