President Barack Obama again pushed Congress to act on his 'to do' list Friday and Saturday, highlighting at both a Chicago fundraiser and in his weekly address the need to act on critical job-creating legislation.
Speaking in Chicago at a campaign fundraiser, Obama briefly touched on the disappointing jobs numbers released Friday by the Department of Labor, and encouraged Congress to see those numbers as an impetus to act.
"We're not where we need to be. We're not there yet. We saw that in today's jobs report...Now, what makes this year so important is because we've got a contrast this time that we may not have seen in American politics in quite some time," Obama told supporters at the Chicago Cultural Center Friday evening.
"But the vision that [Mitt Romney] has for this country, like the vision that Republicans in Congress have for this country, is exactly the vision that got us into this mess in the first place. Except, as Bill Clinton said a few weeks ago, it's on steroids this time," the president said to audience laughter.
The president went on to touch on his Veterans Jobs Corps, one of the pillars of his congressional 'to do' list. The corps program makes it easier for businesses to hire post 9/11 veterans. He also used the occasion of his weekly address to highlight this program.
"I just announced a step that will make it easier for companies to hire returning service members who have the skills our country needs right now," the president told a crowd at a Honeywell manufacturing facility in Golden Valley, Minnesota. "It's another part of our effort to make sure that no American who fights for this country abroad has to fight for a job when they come home."
Touching on the "bipartisan" job creation bill he introduced in September that has only partially passed through congress, Obama further encouraged House Republicans to pass legislation to extend clean energy manufacturers tax credits, help prevent state layoffs and facilitate mortgage refinancing.
"Now is not the time for Congress to sit on its hands. The American people expect their leaders to work hard, no matter what year it is. That's what I intend to do. And I expect Democrats and Republicans to join me," he concluded.
The president's full congressional 'to do' list includes: ending tax breaks to companies that ship jobs overseas, helping those Americans who pay their mortgages on time refinance their homes, giving tax breaks to small businesses, extending tax credits to clean energy companies and creating a Veterans Job Corps.
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