McDonnell lays out jobs agenda
Staff Report
News tips: freepress2@ntelos.net
Gov. Bob McDonnell today announced that leading Republican and Democratic lawmakers will carry the budget amendments necessary to implement the job-creation proposals he outlined in his Address to the Joint Houses of the General Assembly last week.
In the Senate the amendments will be carried by ranking Senate Finance Committee member William Wampler (R-Bristol) and Finance Committee Chairman Senator Charles Colgan (D- Prince William). The amendments in the House will be brought forward by Appropriations Committee Chairman Delegate Lacey Putney (I-Bedford). McDonnell further announced that he has identified existing funding and specific spending cuts to offset the cost of each new job-creation proposal.
In last week’s speech to the General Assembly, McDonnell called for greater investments in state programs that spur job-creation and economic development in the Commonwealth. Read more
Local officials back jobs program
Staff Report
News tips: freepress2@ntelos.net
As U.S. mayors gathered in Washington this week to meet with the Obama administration about unemployment and the economy, Virginia local government officials and community leaders are calling for the creation of a Community Jobs program.
The jobs program would provide funding to localities across the country to create 1 million temporary public and private sector jobs. Congressman Keith Ellison from Minnesota has introduced HR 4268, The Put America to Work Act of 2009, in the U.S. House of Representatives to authorize a Community Jobs Program. The bill has 52 co-sponsors. Community groups and local government officials are working with partners around the country to organize in support of this bill, and to ensure that it becomes law.
Advocates for the legislation stress the urgency in creating new jobs. Since December 2007, when the recession began, the economy has shed 7.2 million jobs. In December 2009, the national unemployment rate was at a staggering 10 percent. Read more
President Obama remarks on the economy
Speech by President Barack Obama
www.whitehouse.gov
I’ve just finished a candid and productive meeting with the CEOs of 12 of our nation’s largest financial institutions. I asked them to come to Washington today – at the end of this difficult year for their industry, but also for the economy – to discuss where we’ve been, what we expect of them going forward, and how we can work together to accelerate economic recovery.
Our nation’s banks play, and have always played, a crucial role in our national economy – from providing loans for homes and cars and colleges; to supplying the capital that allows entrepreneurs to turn ideas into products and businesses to grow; to helping people save for a rainy day and a secure retirement. So it’s clear that each of us has a stake in ensuring the strength and the vitality of the financial system. Read more
Bolling earns job-czar appointment
Staff Report
www.ltgov.virginia.gov
Virginia Gov.-elect Bob McDonnell announced tody that Lt. Gov. Bill Bolling will serve in his Cabinet as Virginia’s Chief Jobs Creation Officer.
“Bill Bolling is about to become the busiest lieutenant governor in America,” said McDonnell, confirming that Bolling will also chair his Job Creation and Economic Opportunity Task Force and the Job Creation Work Group, an internal working group of Cabinet secretaries and agency heads. Read more
Obama: Statement on jobs
Staff Report
White House news: www.whitehouse.gov
I have just concluded an informative and constructive discussion with Republican and Democratic leaders about job creation and our economic future. We spoke about the challenges facing our families, our businesses, and our country as a whole, and what we can do to overcome them. Today’s meeting built on some of the ideas that I offered in the economic speech that I gave yesterday and on some of the ideas discussed at the Job Forum that we held at the White House last week. Read more
Economic issues for average Virginians bad, and going to get worse
Staff Report
Struggles to date for average Virginians since the start of the recession in December 2007 are “just the tip of the iceberg,” said Michael Cassidy, the executive director of The Commonwealth Institute for Fiscal Analysis, which released a report today detailing the present and near-term future impacts of the economic downturn on workers and their families.
“Sharp increases in unemployment, wage declines for most workers and continued deterioration in workers’ health-insurance coverage has been coupled with the fact that Virginia workers pay the greatest share of insurance premiums in the country. As the effects of the recession drag on, these challenges will only increase,” said Cassidy. Read more
Common-sense solutions needed to get Americans back to work
Posted by afp on December 8, 2009 · Leave a Comment
Column by Bob Goodlatte
www.goodlatte.house.gov
Earlier this year, the Congress passed a one trillion dollar “stimulus” bill on the promise that it would create jobs immediately. Instead, 3 million jobs have been lost since the so-called stimulus bill was signed into law. Read more
Filed under Blogs · Tagged with bob goodlatte, congressman, health care reform, jobs, sixth district, virginia