Obama calls for debt deal to boost job growth
Updated 12:19 p.m. Eastern Time
President Obama pointed to the disappointing jobs report out Friday morning to make the case for quick action on a deal to increase the nation's $14.3 trillion debt ceiling, saying that "the sooner that the markets know" a deal is done, the sooner they will have "the certainty that they will need in order to make additional investments to grow and to hire."
A disappointing jobs report Friday morning revealed that the nation's unemployment rate rose to 9.2 percent in June as the economy added just 18,000 net new jobs, prompting attacks from Republicans over the president's economic policy.
Amid criticism from both the left and right, Mr. Obama opened his Rose Garden remarks by acknowledging that the economy - not the debt limit - is the top concern of most Americans. He said the jobs report "confirms what most Americans already know: We still have a long way to go and a lot of work to do to give people the security and opportunity that they deserve."
He then pointed to the "tough headwinds" faced in recent months - including natural disasters, local budget cuts, economic trouble abroad and "uncertainty over whether the debt limit here in the United States will be raised," which he said has "made businesses hesitant to invest more aggressively."
"The American people need us to could everything we can to help strengthen this economy and make sure that we are producing more jobs," he added later. Mr. Obama then reiterated that there has been "good progress" in the debt limit negotiations but that "real differences remain."
The president also said that getting a deal done "will provide more confidence to the rest of the world...so that they are committed to investing in America."
The president urged Congress to act not just on the debt limit but on pending infrastructure legislation and trade agreements that he said would spur job growth, and to extend a $1,000 tax cut for middle class families into next year.
"I'm ready to roll up my sleeves over the next several weeks and next several months," he said, calling on lawmakers to "do the right thing not for party but for country."
With the August 2 deadline for a deal fast approaching - and administration officials saying a framework must be in place within weeks - formal debt limit negotiations are scheduled to continue at 6 p.m. on Sunday at the White House. The president is seeking a historic deal for as much as $4 trillion or more in savings over a decade, though there are significant obstacles to reaching agreement.
While Mr. Obama and Democrats want to raise taxes on high earners as part of a deal, Republicans want the savings to come exclusively from spending cuts, though they have signaled openness to closing some tax loopholes. And signals from the White House that entitlement programs are on the table have prompted an outcry from the left, reflecting the difficultly of getting a deal including significant cuts to Medicare, Medicaid and/or Social Security through Congress.
Liberal blogger Jane Hamsher wrote yesterday in response to those signals that "What we're watching is the death of the Democratic Party," adding in a post entitled "The Breaking Point" that "we will make it as painful as possible for any politician from any party to participate in this wholesale looting of the public sphere."
Meanwhile, Boehner's "forces appeared shaken Thursday by the skepticism they encountered for even entertaining new tax revenues as part of the package," according to Politico, with divisions breaking out within the Republican caucus.
Mr. Obama has laid out three scenarios for a deal, a congressional aide speaking anonymously told CBS News. They are for a debt limit increase and accompanying deficit reduction of $1 trillion, $2.5 trillion or $4 trillion. All three options would be expected to cover debt through the 2012 election. But Mr. Obama has indicated he would view anything less than $4 trillion deal as a major missed opportunity.