1.1: Work
Putting Americans Back to Work Other Information:
When President Obama took office, the economy was in the deepest economic crisis since the Great Depression. His Recovery
Act represented the largest education investment since President Johnson, the largest infrastructure investment since President
Eisenhower, the single largest clean energy investment ever, and the broadest tax cut in American history. It helped keep
teachers, police officers, nurses, and firefighters on the job. It ensured that as we re-built our country, we bought American-made
iron, steel, and manufactured goods wherever feasible, consistent with our international obligations. It helped the President
stop the bleeding and reverse the free fall. But just as the recession was not created overnight, we knew it would take time
to recover from the crisis—and more needs to be done. Last September, President Obama put forward the American Jobs Act to
provide an immediate boost to the economy and strengthen the recovery. We have already enacted key parts of the American Jobs
Act—payroll tax relief, tax credits for businesses that hire veterans, and an extension of unemployment insurance that also
included reforms like work-sharing, a "Bridge to Work" to help the long-term unemployed reconnect with the labor force, and
support for unemployed workers looking to become entrepreneurs. But Republicans in Congress blocked other provisions that
independent analysis said could create one million jobs. Even as President Obama remains committed to working with both parties,
he and his cabinet pursued a series of executive actions to help spark economic growth and job creation, including expanding
access to refinancing for families who have stayed current on their mortgages, challenging Community Health Centers to hire
veterans, accelerating permitting for transportation projects, cutting waste and reducing improper payments, and enabling
student loan borrowers to cap their payments at a percentage of income. That's why President Obama and the Democratic Party
have cut taxes on American workers and businesses and made sweeping reforms to the unemployment system to help get people
back to work. And we continue to fight for measures that would strengthen the recovery and create jobs now, including keeping
teachers and first responders on the job, putting construction workers back to work by investing in our roads, bridges, schools,
and water supply, helping families refinance their mortgages and save hundreds of dollars a month, cutting taxes for small
businesses that invest and hire, and putting veterans back to work. That's why we continue to fight for relief for the long-term
unemployed, including a ban on hiring discrimination against the unemployed and a reformed and expanded universal worker training
proposal to provide more training and job search assistance to all displaced workers regardless of how they lost their job.
The President's plan includes many measures that have long had bipartisan support.
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