Obama unveiled the plans in a speech in Pennsylvania, just days after he hosted a jobs summit at the White House. The summit drew union and business leaders, including Trumka, Change To Win Chair Anna Burger, Steelworkers President Leo Gerard, CWA President Larry Cohen, Teamsters President James Hoffa, AFT President Randi Weingarten and UFCW President Joe Hansen.
Trumka said Obama’s plan is similar to the 5-point proposal the federation unveiled in early December and pushed at the summit. That’s one reason labor will lobby for Obama’s proposal, he said.
But the lobbying may not budge the Senate, which is tangled up in health care, before the end of this year – even though key components of the AFL-CIO and Obama plans, for extending food stamps, jobless benefits and COBRA coverage, end Dec. 31.
“While Wall Street is busy cashing their bonus checks, now is the time for immediate action to stabilize the economy for struggling working Americans on Main Street,” Trumka urged lawmakers. “We must ensure any plan is big and robust enough to meet the scale of the crisis we face.”
Trumka said Obama’s plan is “proposing many of the same steps that we see as the most promising, efficient routes to job creation,” such as putting unused Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) money “to work for Main Street by making it available to provide credit to small business.” Obama estimates there is $200 billion in unused TARP money.
Obama’s plan also extends jobless benefits, food stamps and COBRA, rebuilds schools, roads and energy systems, and it is “increasing aid to state and local governments to maintain vital services and prevent the layoffs of teachers, firefighters and police and putting people to work doing work that needs to be done,” Trumka said.
But he differs with Obama’s tax credits to business. They’re “not the most- effective way to create jobs and should not be the main priority for spending public funds,” Trumka added.
This article was written by Press Associates, Inc., news service. Used by permission.
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Obama unveiled the plans in a speech in Pennsylvania, just days after he hosted a jobs summit at the White House. The summit drew union and business leaders, including Trumka, Change To Win Chair Anna Burger, Steelworkers President Leo Gerard, CWA President Larry Cohen, Teamsters President James Hoffa, AFT President Randi Weingarten and UFCW President Joe Hansen.
Trumka said Obama’s plan is similar to the 5-point proposal the federation unveiled in early December and pushed at the summit. That’s one reason labor will lobby for Obama’s proposal, he said.
But the lobbying may not budge the Senate, which is tangled up in health care, before the end of this year – even though key components of the AFL-CIO and Obama plans, for extending food stamps, jobless benefits and COBRA coverage, end Dec. 31.
“While Wall Street is busy cashing their bonus checks, now is the time for immediate action to stabilize the economy for struggling working Americans on Main Street,” Trumka urged lawmakers. “We must ensure any plan is big and robust enough to meet the scale of the crisis we face.”
Trumka said Obama’s plan is “proposing many of the same steps that we see as the most promising, efficient routes to job creation,” such as putting unused Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) money “to work for Main Street by making it available to provide credit to small business.” Obama estimates there is $200 billion in unused TARP money.
Obama’s plan also extends jobless benefits, food stamps and COBRA, rebuilds schools, roads and energy systems, and it is “increasing aid to state and local governments to maintain vital services and prevent the layoffs of teachers, firefighters and police and putting people to work doing work that needs to be done,” Trumka said.
But he differs with Obama’s tax credits to business. They’re “not the most- effective way to create jobs and should not be the main priority for spending public funds,” Trumka added.
This article was written by Press Associates, Inc., news service. Used by permission.