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Politico...
Democrats eye new
jobs agenda
By Manu Raju
6/19/11
Senate Democrats are beginning to fear that the country’s increasingly
dim economic outlook will cost them their seats in 2012 and are trying
to craft a new agenda aimed at spurring job creation.
While there is no shortage of ideas of what a plan could include — from
a payroll tax holiday to increased infrastructure spending — Democrats
haven’t settled on the details or whether to craft one large package or
push through a series of narrow measures. They’re also unsure how to
sell their plans to the public or how to engage Senate Republicans.
“There’s no easy answer to this,” Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.) told
POLITICO.
Fearing the economy may be getting worse, Democrats plan to soon unveil
what they’ll call a “Jobs First” agenda — and the stakes are high. A
bleak economic outlook, like the May jobs report, could cost Democrats
their thin Senate majority and even the White House if they can’t make
a strong case to an anxious electorate that their policies will create
jobs.
Senate Democrats are now grappling with ways to gain an edge in the
economic debate dominated by budget talk. For instance, in an attempt
to woo Republicans, Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and the White House are
open to extending a payroll tax break to stimulate the economy, but
that has spawned unease from Democratic senators such as Maryland’s Ben
Cardin who worry that it would drive up the deficit and unnerve
liberals such as Vermont’s Bernie Sanders, who are concerned it would
deplete the Social Security trust fund.
Sen. Mark Begich has enlisted business officials to present senators
with their ideas for bolstering job creation, and the Alaska Democrat
wants his party to unveil a package full of proposals — like a boost in
infrastructure spending and changes to visas to boost tourism — that
one by one could be brought to the floor over the next several weeks.
But others, like Lieberman, said the best way to regain confidence in
the economy is to wait out Vice President Joe Biden and the bipartisan
group of six senators who are negotiating a major deficit-slashing
package as part of a deal to raise the $14.3 trillion national debt
ceiling by early August.
Read the rest of the story at Politico
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