Rep. Joe Pitts: Obama is a Year Late on Jobs

Obama is a Year Late on Jobs

By Congressman Joe Pitts

In his State of the Union address, the President identified several things Congress can do to spur job creation and economic strength. Many of these ideas are good ones. In fact, I called on Democrats to enact many of them a year ago instead of enacting what I rightly predicted would be a largely ineffective stimulus bill.

I welcome the President's newfound focus on building prosperity. I wish he had listened to me and many of my Democratic and Republican colleagues when we urged him to do these things a year ago.

On January 28, 2009 I wrote a proposal outlining in four categories what I felt Congress should do instead of passing the stimulus bill. In addition to stabilizing the housing market, those categories were: 1) tax reduction, 2) energy production, and 3) trade promotion and regulatory reform.

The President is now advocating many of the proposals I urged then, or similar ones. Millions of jobs have been lost in the meantime. I am less interested in saying "I told you so" than in pointing out that Republicans like me offered real and substantive solutions early on. These ideas were mostly ignored by the President and actively opposed by Speaker Pelosi and Congressional Democrats. I believe that resulted in unnecessary struggles for an inestimable number of Americans.

Tax Reduction

Tax reduction is the surest and quickest form of economic stimulus. What Democrats like to call government "investment" takes months and years to enter the economy and often has only fleeting benefits. On January 28, 2009 I wrote: "Americans are subject to one of the highest capital gains tax rates in the world. A reduction in the capital gains rate ... would unleash funds and materials with which to create jobs and grow the economy. Congress should allow businesses to carry back net operating losses seven years, providing small businesses with the additional cash necessary to pursue pro-growth investment opportunities that would stimulate the economy."

A year later, on January 27, 2010, the President said: “Let's eliminate all capital gains taxes on small business investment, and provide a tax incentive for all large businesses and all small businesses to invest in new plants and equipment.” Congress passed net operating loss legislation on November 5, 2009, nearly ten months after I first called for it.

Regulatory Reform

The stimulus bill infamously dedicated only six percent of its resources to infrastructure construction. In 2009 I wrote that Congress should pass the Highway Trust Fund Reform Act, which would repeal costly 80 year-old labor provisions and increase highway spending by 15 percent without spending a dime in new money.

A year later, the President said, rather vaguely, "Next, we can put Americans to work today building the infrastructure of tomorrow. From the first railroads to the Interstate Highway System, our nation has always been built to compete."

Energy Development

Every aspect of our economy, from commuting to photocopying, consumes energy. A year ago I wrote: "America is blessed with abundant supplies of natural gas, wind, coal, and offshore oil. We have the technology to produce nuclear power, clean coal, and hydrogen powered vehicles. One of the best things government can do to stimulate the economy is encourage energy growth. New investments in clean, safe and efficient power made in this country would create millions of jobs and provide the groundwork necessary for tremendous economic growth." On July 31, I introduced the bipartisan SAFE Nuclear Act (H.R. 3448) to expedite the construction of new nuclear generation under safe circumstances.

In his State of the Union, the President said, "To create more of these clean energy jobs, we need more production, more efficiency, more incentives. And that means building a new generation of safe, clean nuclear power plants in this country. It means making tough decisions about opening new offshore areas for oil and gas development."

Trade

In 2009, I wrote: "When Americans are free to do business with the rest of the world, Americans win." I said we should "pass pending free trade agreements that will open up new markets and stimulate growth in the American economy and around the world. Only those that guarantee a truly level playing field should be ratified, others should be renegotiated."

A year later, the President said, "We will double our exports over the next five years, an increase that will support two million jobs in America. We have to seek new markets aggressively, just as our competitors are."

It would be unfair to claim the President has never spoken on any of these things before. None, however, were a priority until America got angry with him. All politics aside, that is a great shame. Much is at stake in our economic situation, and a year was sadly wasted.

Rep. Joe Pitts is a Republican who represents Pennsylvania's 16th Congressional District in parts of Berks, Chester and Lancaster counties.