Lynn Jenkins, a member of the U.S. House of Representatives from the second district of Kansas, writes that actions by Congressional Democrats are harming jobs prospects for Americans: “The American people elected us to do our jobs, but instead of focusing on that, Democrats in Washington have decided to wage a campaign against the very companies that eventually will get us out of this economic mess.”
In particular, Jenkins mentions Wichita-based Koch Industries as a company working hard to create jobs and value in the marketplace, only to suffer criticism from President Barack Obama, his administration, and his political allies.
Some of the attacks on Koch Industries are false. Jenkins mentions Rep. Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and his claim that Koch outsourced jobs, when the company in question was not related to Koch Industries at the relevant time. This false charge is often repeated.
Then, there’s the income tax information about Koch Industries, which Austan Goolsbee, who was just named by Obama as Chair of the Council of Economic Advisers, leaked, apparently inappropriately. The Washington Times reports this matter now being investigated by a federal inspector general.
JENKINS: Working on excuses
The only jobs Democrats care about are their own
By Lynn Jenkins
When President Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act into law, the Democratic majority told us it would cost $787 billion and keep unemployment below 8 percent. Neither proved to be true. Unemployment has risen to 9.6 percent, and the Congressional Budget Office anticipates that the law will increase deficits by $814 billion.
In addition to historically high unemployment, this year’s annual federal deficit is set to exceed $1.3 trillion, and our national debt is more than $13.5 trillion. However, instead of focusing on job creation or doing our constitutionally obligated task of passing a budget and annual appropriations bills, the president’s staff and congressional Democrats have sought out a boogeyman to blame.
Last week, the House of Representatives passed a continuing resolution to allow members to get back to their districts to campaign for re-election. Instead of holding a vote on whether to extend the current tax rates set to expire in 2011 and eliminating the uncertainty that is crippling potential job creators of all sizes, Democratic leaders skipped town to protect their jobs rather than fighting to save jobs of hardworking Americans.