John Boehner claims creating jobs is his top priority, but so far in 2013 House Republicans have taken exactly one vote on jobs legislation.
During his recent media appearances, Speaker Boehner has been working the word jobs into all of his statements like he has some form of one off Republican talking point Tourette Syndrome. During his press conference before the 39th House Republican attempt to repeal Obamacare, Speaker Boehner said, “But some progress has been made, and Republicans will continue to work to scrap the law in its entirety so we can focus on patient-centered reforms that lower costs and protect jobs. Because jobs is what this is all about.”
Almost all John Boehner interviews now feature a line about how jobs, but actions definitely speak louder than words. Ari Berman looked what the House is spending their time voting on, and he discovered that Republicans have taken one vote on jobs legislation this year.
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Image and Graph courtesy of Ari Melber Facebook
The mention of jobs is an empty throwaway line that is designed to appease voters by making it sound like Boehner and his fellow House Republicans care about the working, or in this case not working folks. In 2012, House Republicans killed a highway construction bill that would have saved and created a total of 3 million jobs. In their first 300+ days of controlling the House, Republicans created 0 jobs and killed 4.2 million.
One quarter of all House votes in 2013 have been related to spending cuts, which is numerical evidence that Republicans are much more interested in taking away programs and resources from Americans who need them than creating jobs and economic opportunity.
Boehner’s weak and half hearted statements on jobs are part of the House Republican plan to whitewash their record. This is the same legislative body that has only scheduled 126 days in session for the entire year. It is difficult for Republicans to create jobs for others when they are never at work.
House Republicans have shown time and again that their real priority is to limit economic growth during the Obama presidency. The numbers confirm that Boehner’s tough talk on jobs is more empty words that Republicans expect the American people to believe. The only jobs that Republicans care about are their own.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
