Americans are looking for jobs, and Republicans are looking to score cheap political points with message bills to nowhere. The American people deserve better.
Instead of working with Democrats to create jobs and strengthen the middle class, House Republicans are looking towards Election Day with tunnel vision and coordinating with former Governor Mitt Romney to repeal patients’ rights and give more tax breaks to the wealthiest Americans.
From Politico:
As the spotlight shifts unmistakably from Washington to the campaign trail, House Republicans have planned a series of hot-button votes over the next four weeks to contrast the party’s agenda with that of Democrats and put President Barack Obama and Democratic candidates on the defensive.
Very little — if any — of it will become law. The main goal is to boost the party’s prospects on Election Day.
The carefully planned effort, detailed by Republicans inside and outside the Capitol, has buy-in from Mitt Romney’s campaign, aides say. Outside political groups, which by law cannot coordinate with lawmakers, intend to pounce on the upcoming votes with advertising, robocalls and mailings.
House Republicans will kick off the effort this week with another quixotic attempt to repeal Obama’s health care law. Next week, they will turn to defense, passing the Defense Department’s funding bill while trying to put the Obama administration on record as having no plan to avoid deep cuts to the Pentagon next year.
After that, Republicans intend to take up a slew of regulatory relief bills. And before the House breaks in August for its monthlong recess, GOP leaders plan to hold a vote on tax rates and principles for future tax reform.
Republicans have spent much of 2012 on these very themes. And therein lies the risk for the party: With the nation’s unemployment rate stuck at 8.2 percent and Obama and House Democrats trying to make Congress’s inaction a central point of their election-year message, weeks of passing bills that are unlikely to become law could give Democrats more ammunition…
“While Democrats will continue to demand action on jobs, House Republicans will continue to waste taxpayer dollars running the air conditioning and keeping the lights on in the Capitol on message bills to nowhere that will never become law,” said Nadeam Elshami, a spokesman for House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.).
The poll, conducted by GOP pollster David Winston, also showed more Americans believe Obama is more focused on job creation than Republicans in Congress.
“In the words of Speaker Boehner: ‘Where are the jobs?’” added Elshami. “Americans want Congress to work together to stop the outsourcing and offshoring of jobs and to help small businesses grow and hire, not give more tax breaks to millionaires.”