Statement on the President's American Jobs Act

September 8, 2011

Washington, D.C. – Today, Rep. Zoe Lofgren issued the following statement in response to the President’s speech calling for Congressional action on jobs.  

I welcome and support the President’s call for an American Jobs Act, and I urge my Republican colleagues to work with the administration and Democrats in Congress to put America back to work. Getting our economy back on track is the fastest and surest way to get our budget problems under control.

I’ve served in elected office since the early 1980’s, first as a school board member, then as a member of the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors, and finally as a member of Congress. I’ve spent my entire career in public service working to find compromise. Governing is not about getting your way, it’s about doing the most good for the most people. This proposal is not what I would consider an ideal solution, but it is a sensible and reasonable approach. I hope my colleagues on the other side of the aisle put aside their partisan goals and join us in governing.  

The American Jobs Act, as proposed by the President would:

• cut taxes for small businesses, the engines of job creation, to help them hire and grow; 

• put more money in the pockets of working and middle class Americans; 

• put more people back to work --teachers laid off from state budget cuts, veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, first responders, and constructions workers rebuilding our roads and bridges, and schools; and

• help the long term unemployed, by helping them support their families while they look for work and reforming the system to better connect them to real jobs.