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The
White House...
Here’s
how the American Jobs Act works
Good
afternoon,
Last
night President Obama walked
Congress and the nation through the American Jobs Act, his plan to
create jobs
in America now. It’s up to Congress to act on this set of bipartisan
ideas that
put people back to work and put more money into the pockets of working
Americans.
You
can watch a special enhanced
version of the speech, featuring charts and other relevant information here:
Here
are a few important points about
how the American Jobs Act works, and why Congress should act quickly:
First,
it provides a tax cut for small
businesses, not big corporations, to help them hire and expand now and
provides
an additional tax cut to any business that increases wages.
Second,
it puts people back to work,
including teachers, first responders and veterans coming back from Iraq
and
Afghanistan, and construction workers repairing crumbling bridges,
roads and
more than 35,000 public schools, with projects chosen by need and
impact, not
earmarks and politics.
Third,
it helps out-of-work Americans
by extending unemployment benefits to help them support their families
while
looking for work and reforming the system with training programs that
build
real skills, connect to real jobs and help the long-term unemployed.
Fourth,
it puts more money in the
pockets of working and middle class Americans by cutting in half the
payroll
tax that comes out of every worker’s paycheck, saving families an
average of
$1,500 a year. And it removes the barriers that exist in the current
federal
refinancing program (HARP) to help more Americans refinance their
mortgages at
historically low rates, save money and stay in their homes.
The
American Jobs Act is based on
ideas supported by both Democrats and Republicans, and is fully paid
for by
closing corporate tax loopholes and by asking the wealthiest Americans
to pay
their fair share. It would have an immediate impact on job and economic
growth,
but Congress has to act now.
You
can learn more about the American
Jobs Act on Whitehouse.gov.
Over
the next few days there are a
number of ways for you to ask questions and engage with Administration
officials about the American Jobs Act including Open for Questions live
panels
and Twitter Office Hours.
In
fact, next week, I’ll be
participating in my very first White House Office Hours on Twitter, so
be sure
to tune in and send me your questions using the hashtag #WHChat.
Here’s
a list of the full lineup of
events so far:
Today
at 4:30 p.m. EDT: Brian Deese,
Deputy Director of the National Economic Council will be answering your
questions on Twitter during White House Office Hours using the hashtag
#WHChat.
Monday
September 12 at 4:30 p.m. EDT:
White House Office Hours on Twitter with Stephanie Cutter, Assistant to
the
President and Deputy Senior Advisor.
Tuesday,
September 13 at 5:30 p.m.
EDT: I’ll be answering your questions on Twitter during White House
Office
Hours using the hashtag #WHChat.
Wednesday,
September 14th at 4:00 p.m.
EDT: White House Office Hours with Brian Deese, Deputy Director of the
National
Economic council.
Sincerely,
David
Plouffe
Senior
Advisor to the President
P.S.
After last night’s address, a few
White House policy experts answered questions about the speech. Check
out the video of
the event.
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