President Obama discusses the need for Congress to pass the American Jobs Act to put more people back to work, and more money back in the pockets of people who are working. Read the jobs bill.

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release

September 17, 2011

Passing the American Jobs Act

WASHINGTON—In this week’s address, President Obama urged Congress to pass the American Jobs Act without delay so that businesses will be able to hire more workers and every American who wants a job will be able to find one. The President’s jobs bill keeps cops on the streets and teachers in the classrooms, cuts taxes for small businesses, and puts construction workers back to work without adding to the deficit. All Americans who agree with the President’s plan should call their elected officials and tell them that it’s time to pass the jobs bill, which will ensure that everyone pays their fair share and that we live within our means as we help the economy continue to grow.

Remarks of President Barack Obama
Weekly Address
The White House
September 17, 2011

I’ve spent some time lately traveling the country and talking with folks outside of Washington. And the number one issue for the people I meet is how we can get back to a place where we’re creating good, middle-class jobs that pay well and offer some security.

That’s the idea behind the American Jobs Act. It’s a jobs bill that does two simple things: put more people back to work, and more money back in the pockets of people who are working.

This jobs bill puts construction workers back to work rebuilding our roads and bridges and modernizing our schools.

This jobs bill puts teachers back in the classroom, and keeps cops and firefighters on our streets.

This jobs bill gives tax credits to companies that hire our veterans, because if you sign up to fight for our country, the last thing you should have to do is fight for a job when you come home.

This jobs bill connects the long-term unemployed to temporary work to keep their skills sharp while they look for a job, and it gives hundreds of thousands of young people the hope of a job next summer.

This jobs bill cuts taxes for every small business owner in America. It cuts them even more for small business owners that hire new workers and raise workers’ salaries. And it cuts taxes for every working family in America so that you’ll have more money in your pockets, and businesses know they’ll have customers to buy what they sell.

That’s the American Jobs Act, and you can check it out for yourself on WhiteHouse.gov.

It will create new jobs. It will cut taxes for every worker and small business in the country. And it will not add to the deficit. It will be paid for.

On Monday, I’ll lay out my plan for how we’ll do that – how we’ll pay for this plan and pay down our debt by following some basic principles: making sure we live within our means and asking everyone to pay their fair share.

But right now, we’ve got to get Congress to pass this jobs bill. Everything in the American Jobs Act is the kind of idea that’s been supported by Democrats and Republicans before. And if they’re ideas you agree with, too, every one of you can help make it happen by telling your congressperson to pass this jobs bill right away.

I know some of them would rather wait another year to wage another election than work together right now. But most Americans don’t have the luxury of waiting. It was three years ago this week that a financial crisis on Wall Street made things much more difficult for working folks on Main Street. And too many are still hurting as a result.

So the time for action is now. No more games or gridlock. No more division or delay. It’s time for the people you sent to Washington to put country before party – to stop worrying so much about their jobs and start worrying more about yours.

It’s time to get to work and show the world once again why the United States of America remains the greatest nation on Earth.

Thank you.

President’s Jobs Council Listening and Action Sessions in Portland and Dallas

This week, the President's Council on Jobs and Competitiveness held Listening and Action Sessions in Portland, Oregon and Dallas, TX. The events are part of a series of regional Council Listening and Action Sessions that are taking place around the country as a result of the President’s challenge that the Council bring new voices to the table and ensure that everyone can participate and inform the Council’s work and recommendations. The ideas and information exchanged at these events will help inform the future policy work of the President’s Council on Jobs and Competitiveness, which meets with President Obama each quarter to recommend critical steps that both the private and public sectors can take to create jobs and help strengthen the economy.

Jobs Council member Paul Otellini, CEO of Intel, joined with business leaders and the Deans of Engineering schools in Portland, Oregon to discuss America’s need for engineers as part of a regional Listening and Action session.

On Wednesday, Energy Secretary Steven Chu and Jobs Council members Paul Otellini, CEO of Intel, and Darlene Miller, CEO, Permac Industries, joined with business leaders and the Deans of Engineering schools in Portland, Oregon to discuss America’s need for engineers as part of a regional Listening and Action session hosted by the President’s Council on Jobs and Competitiveness. The panelists shared their thoughts on how the private and public sectors can help the United States graduate more engineers and answered questions from audience members, including local small business owners and educators.

In addition, the Jobs Council announced that 45 industry leaders, including American Express, BNSF Railway, Boeing, DuPont, DuPont, Eaton, GE, Intel, Facebook, NextEra Energy, and Xerox have committed to doubling engineering internships at their companies in 2012, strengthening the skills and talent of our students with hands-on, technical opportunities.

U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood discusses the importance of strengthening the skills and talent of our students with hands-on, technical opportunities.

As Secretary Chu noted, “The President cares very deeply about getting Americans back to work, number one. He cares very deeply about those things in America that we can nurture that not only get people back to work immediately but form the basis of an enduring prosperity. You look in history and say, what was fueling the semiconductor, computer and internet revolutions, the biotech revolutions, the aerospace – all of those things. It goes back a lot to science and engineering education – that’s one of our core strengths in the United States.”

The commitments made this week, which will create about 6,300 new opportunities for engineering students, support the Job Council’s goal to graduate 10,000 more engineering students from U.S. colleges and universities each year.
On Thursday, the Jobs Council met in Dallas with local business owners to discuss the steps we have taken to strengthen our nation’s infrastructure and come up with initiatives and policies to further grow the economy and accelerate hiring. The Listening and Action session held at Southern Methodist University highlighted the broad coalition of opinion leaders who are calling on Congress to pass a clean extension of key transportation programs to protect critical jobs and bolster our roads, bridges, runways and railways. From modernizing the nation's air traffic control system and transmission infrastructure to promoting incentives to promote private investment in the latest broadband technologies, Jobs Council members and other experts focused on the importance of infrastructure investment to creating jobs across sectors of the American economy.