You can hear Speaker John Boehner trying to sell his
special interest giveaways as “jobs bills” every Thursday during his
pressers. He has marked the bills as such and so they must be,
Shakespeare notwithstanding. But there is a reason he has never gotten
an independent score on his “Jobs bills”, and that’s because they are
not actually jobs bills.
Boehner often stands in front of a press wall which
attempts to reinforce this false message by screaming “JOBS!” These
things used to work, but not so much anymore since the internet.
And Democrats aren’t taking it lying down anymore. I
guess this is what comes after twenty odd years of being trolled hard
by Republicans in the media. So Leader Nancy Pelosi’s (D-CA) office has
been putting out fact sheets on the Boehner jobs bills, and lo and
behold, it’s true. They aren’t jobs bills, which is sort of a duh moment
because if repugicans wanted jobs they would have passed President
Obama’s fully paid for American Jobs Act after making adjustments to
it.
And here we go to the weeds. Bear with me, because this is an exhaustive list, but it needed to be said:
Below are the facts about the repugican cabal’s Faux 43:
33 Partisan, Special-Interest Bills; Message Bills to Nowhere; NOT “Jobs” Bills
* A Gift to Big Oil Act Attempt 1 (Continental
Shelf Transboundary Hydrocarbon Agreements Authorization Act, H.R. 1613)
– Instead of creating jobs, this bill includes a special-interest
provision sought by Big Oil that waives a Wall Street Reform provision
requiring public disclosure by companies of payments made to foreign
governments for oil and gas resources – a provision designed to shed
light on the deals between energy companies and government
officials/paramilitary groups abroad.
* A Gift to Big Oil Act Attempt 2 (Lowering
Gasoline Prices to Fuel An America That Works Act, H.R. 4899) – Instead
of creating jobs, this special-interest bill is an omnibus energy bill
that rewards Big Oil and does nothing to help consumers at the pump. It
mandates the most sweeping expansion of offshore drilling in our
nation’s history – making broad sections of the Atlantic and Pacific
Oceans open for new, unsafe drilling, threatening tourism, fishing, our
coast environment, and American jobs. It also gives away our public
lands to Big Oil companies – elevating energy production above hunting,
fishing, recreation, grazing and conservation in managing our public
lands and irresponsibly expanding drilling on these public lands.
* A Gift to Big Oil and Gas Act (Protecting
States’ Rights to Promote American Energy Security Act, H.R. 2728) –
Instead of creating jobs, this extreme, special-interest bill blocks all
federal oversight of oil and gas drilling using hydraulic fracking on
federal lands and relinquishes control to the states, no matter how weak
a state’s guidance, thereby undermining the ability to ensure the
safety of drinking water resources around the country.
* A Gift to the Mining Industry Act (National
Strategic and Critical Minerals Production Act, H.R. 761) – Instead of
creating jobs, this special-interest bill is a gift to the mining
industry – with the bill, under the guise of promoting development of
minerals critical to U.S. national security, being so broadly drafted
that it would dramatically reduce or eliminate proper environmental
reviews for almost all types of mines on public lands, even mines for
sand and gravel, not remotely strategic.
* A Gift to the Coal Industry Act Attempt 1
(Coal Residuals Reuse and Management Act, H.R. 2218) – Instead of
creating jobs, this special-interest bill endangers public health by
preventing effective management of coal ash, even though coal ash
contains significant quantities of heavy metals like arsenic, lead and
selenium, and more than 65 sites in 26 states have been found where coal
ash has contaminated the groundwater.
* A Gift to the Coal Industry Act Attempt 2
(Electricity Security & Affordability Act, H.R. 3826) – Instead of
creating jobs, this bill undermines our health, our economy and our
environment by blocking responsible, measured efforts to reduce carbon
pollution – despite the fact that carbon pollution has been shown to
damage our health by causing more asthma attacks and damage our economy
by causing more frequent extreme weather events, such as floods,
hurricanes, and drought, and despite the fact that moving towards clean
power will create tens of thousands of jobs and spark innovation.
* A Gift to the Coal Industry Act Attempt 3
(Preventing Government Waste & Protecting Coal Mining Jobs in
America Act, H.R. 2824) – Instead of creating jobs, this
special-interest bill gives a gift to big coal companies by replacing
sensible Reagan-era protections for streams and communities in
Appalachia from the impacts of mountaintop removal mining with much
weaker protections – which would make the families of Appalachia pay the
price through degraded water, flooding and health impacts.
* A Gift to the Timber Industry Act (Restoring
Healthy Forests for Healthy Communities Act, H.R. 1526) – Instead of
creating jobs, this bill establishes “timber production zones” in each
national forest, with each forest required to meet annual timber volume
targets set at half of what the forest grows each year. Meeting these
targets would require logging and related road building in currently
protected roadless areas. In addition, the bill includes additional
provisions reversing 100 years of national forest management precedent
and undermining, or in some cases eliminating, multiple-use of our
national forests, thereby harming recreation, hunting, fishing, and
tourism.
* Rulemaking for Special Interests Act Attempt 1
(Northern Route Approval Act, H.R. 3) – Instead of creating jobs, this
extreme bill tilts rulemaking in favor of special interests –
effectively exempting TransCanada’s Keystone XL tar sands pipeline from
all federal permitting requirements, including requirements that apply
to every other construction project in this country.
* Rulemaking for Special Interests Act Attempt 2
(Regulations from the Executive in Need of Scrutiny (REINS) Act, H.R.
367) – Instead of creating jobs, this bill tilts rulemaking in favor of
special interests – requiring that, in order to go into effect, any
significant rule must be approved by both Houses of Congress within 70
legislative days of being received, giving special interests with deep
pockets – such as banks, hedge funds, major polluters – the ability to
simply bottle up a rule in one House for a relatively short period of
time in order to completely kill the rule.
* Rulemaking for Special Interests Act Attempt 3
(Natural Gas Pipeline Permitting Reform Act, H.R. 1900) – Instead of
creating jobs, this tilts rulemaking in favor of special interests –
allowing the automatic approval of natural gas pipeline projects if the
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission or other federal agencies do not
issue the required permit within rigid, unworkable timeframes.
* Rulemaking for Special Interests Act Attempt 4
(Achieving Less Excess in Regulation & Requiring Transparency Act
(ALERRT) Act, H.R. 2804) – Instead of creating jobs, this bill tilts
rulemaking in favor of special interests – adding 60 new analytical
requirements to rulemaking to throw sand in the gears and making it much
easier for big corporations – banks, hedge funds, major polluters – to
evade their obligations to protect the public by giving deep-pocketed
special interests with enough legal resources the option to challenge
rules at many more points in the process.
* Rulemaking for Special Interests Act Attempt 5
(Unfunded Mandates Information & Technology Act, H.R. 899)- Instead
of creating jobs, this bill tilts rulemaking in favor of special
interests – by giving private industry an unfair advantage in the
rulemaking process, politicizing independent regulatory agencies, and
giving deep-pocketed regulated industries new abilities to tie up rules
in litigation in the courts for years – with the bill opposed by
Consumers Union and Consumer Federation of America.
* Rulemaking for Special Interests Act Attempt 6
(Responsibly and Professionally Invigorating Development (RAPID) Act,
H.R. 2641) – Instead of creating jobs, this bill tilts rulemaking in
favor of special interests – giving private sector businesses increased
control in the project approval process, tipping the scales in favor of
private entities by restricting the alternatives that can be considered,
and blurring the distinct roles of private entities and agencies in
agency decisions by allowing project sponsors to prepare environmental
review documents.
* Rulemaking for Special Interests Act Attempt 7
(North American Energy Infrastructure Act, H.R. 3301) – Instead of
creating jobs, this special-interest bill tilts rulemaking in favor of
special interests – eliminating the current requirement that proposed
oil and natural gas pipelines and electric transmission lines that cross
the U.S. border with Mexico or Canada obtain a presidential permit,
after an environmental review and determination that the project is in
the national interest, and replaces it with an extremely weak, limited
review process.
* GOP’s Budget to Give More Tax Breaks to
Millionaires, As Well As To Destroy 3 Million Jobs (Path to Prosperity
Budget, H.Con.Res. 96) – Instead of creating jobs, this House GOP budget
is estimated to destroy 3 million jobs and decrease economic growth by
2.5 percent in 2016. The GOP budget guts investment in America’s
highways, railways, transit systems, and ports and slashes education
funding. In addition, the GOP budget raises taxes on middle class
families with children by an average of at least $2,000, while giving a
$200,000 tax break to millionaires.
* Exploding the Deficit By Providing
Corporations $156 Billion in Permanent, Unpaid-For Tax Cuts Act
(American Research and Competitiveness Act, H.R. 4438) – Instead of
creating jobs, this bill is part of a GOP 14-bill package of permanent
tax cuts, unpaid for, that explodes the deficit by $800 billion over 10
years. This bill alone increases the deficit by $156 billion – by
making permanent the R&D tax credit, unpaid for. Democrats strongly
support the R&D tax credit but believe it should not be made
permanent by adding to the deficit without any revenue offsets and also
believe this proposal should be considered as part of comprehensive tax
reform.
* Exploding the Deficit By Providing Businesses
$73 Billion in Permanent, Unpaid-For Tax Cuts Act (America’s Small
Business Tax Relief Act, H.R. 4457) – Instead of creating jobs, this
bill is part of a GOP 14-bill package of permanent tax cuts, unpaid for,
that explodes the deficit by $800 billion over 10 years. This bill
alone increases the deficit by $73 billion – by making permanent
expanded “Section 179″ expensing for small businesses, unpaid for.
Democrats strongly support “Section 179″ expensing but believe that it
should not be made permanent by adding to the deficit without any
revenue offsets and also believe that this proposal should be considered
as part of comprehensive tax reform.
* Exploding the Deficit By Providing
Corporations $2.2 Billion in Permanent, Unpaid-For Tax Cuts Act (S
Corporation Permanent Tax Relief Act, H.R. 4453) – Instead of creating
jobs, this bill is part of a GOP 14-bill package of permanent tax cuts,
unpaid for, that explodes the deficit by $800 billion over 10 years.
This bill alone increases the deficit by $2.2 billion – by making
permanent two provisions providing tax breaks for S-corporations, unpaid
for. Democrats believe that this proposal should be considered as part
of comprehensive tax reform.
* Exploding the Deficit By Providing
Corporations $287 Billion in Permanent, Unpaid-For Tax Cuts Act (Making
Permanent Bonus Depreciation, H.R. 4718) – Instead of creating jobs,
this bill is part of a GOP 14-bill package of permanent tax cuts, unpaid
for, that explodes the deficit by $800 billion over 10 years. This
bill alone increases the deficit by $287 billion – by making permanent
bonus depreciation, unpaid for. Democrats support continuing bonus
depreciation in the manner it was intended – as a temporary boost to our
economy during economic downturns – but NOT as a permanent tax break.
* Exploding the Deficit By $96 Billion With
Higher Education Tax Benefit Provisions That Leave Many Students Worse
Off Act (Student and Family Tax Simplification Act, H.R. 3393) – Instead
of creating jobs, this bill is part of a GOP 14-bill package of
permanent tax cuts, unpaid for, that explodes the deficit by $800
billion over 10 years. This bill alone increases the deficit by $96
billion – by making the American Opportunity Tax Credit permanent,
unpaid for. The bill also takes away tax benefits from certain students
– non-traditional undergraduate students, lifetime learners, and
graduate students – to pay for benefits for undergraduate students
completing their degrees in four years.
* Exploding the Deficit By $90 Billion With
Child Tax Credit Provisions That Leave Millions of Low-Income Working
Families Behind Act ( Making Permanent Bonus Depreciation, H.R. 4718) –
Instead of creating jobs, this bill is part of a GOP 14-bill package of
permanent tax cuts, unpaid for, that explodes the deficit by $800
billion over 10 years. This bill alone increases the deficit by $90
billion. The bill extends the Child Tax Credit up the income scale – on
a permanent basis – so more families with six-figure incomes will
benefit, while letting the Child Tax Credit disappear for many
low-income working families after 2017. The nonpartisan Center on
Budget and Policy Priorities estimates that the GOP bill will result in
pushing 12 million people – including 6 million children – into or
deeper into poverty.
* Putting Insurance Companies Back in Charge of
Your Health Care Act (Repealing Obamacare, H.R. 45) – Instead of
creating jobs, this bill puts insurance companies back in charge of
Americans’ health care by repealing the Affordable Care Act. The bill
would allow insurers to once again deny coverage to people with
pre-existing conditions, charge women more than men for the same
coverage, and deny young adults the opportunity to stay on their
parents’ plan; increase prescription drug costs for seniors; increase
the costs of preventive services for those with private insurance;
increase the deficit by $109 billion over 10 years; and destroy jobs.
* Raising Taxes on More Than 20 Million
Americans and on Small Businesses Act (Keep the IRS Off Your Health Care
Act, H.R. 2009) – Instead of creating jobs, by prohibiting the Treasury
Department from implementing the ACA, this bill raises taxes on more
than 20 million Americans and on small businesses. First, it takes away
from Americans the premium tax credits that would save them hundreds of
billions of dollars, and secondly, it takes away from small businesses
the small business health care tax credit that is already saving them
money.
* Forcing One Million People to Lose Their
Employer-Sponsored Coverage Act (Save American Workers Act, H.R. 2575) –
Instead of creating jobs, this bill, according to the nonpartisan
Congressional Budget Office, would force one million people to lose
their employer-provided coverage, increase the federal deficit by $74
billion, and increase the number of uninsured by up to 500,000.
* Slashing Education Act (Student Success Act,
H.R. 5) – Instead of creating jobs, this right-wing bill guts education
funding, cutting education funding by $1 billion in 2014 alone; rolls
back protections for disadvantaged students; and removes accountability
provisions designed to ensure all students have access to a high-quality
education – with the groups opposed to this radical bill including the
U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Business Roundtable, National PTA, The
Education Trust, NEA, and AFT.
* Ignoring the Concerns of Law Enforcement Act
(Stop Government Abuse Act, H.R. 2879) – Instead of creating jobs, this
bill allows individuals to record telephone calls and in-person
conversations with federal employees, including federal law enforcement
agents, without their knowledge – and is opposed by the Federal Law
Enforcement Officers Association, National Association of Assistant
United States Attorneys, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation Agents
Association.
* Political Stunt Act (Preserving Work
Requirements for Welfare Programs Act, H.R. 890) – Instead of creating
jobs, this bill is a political stunt – overturning the Administration’s
proposal to provide states more flexibility to move more Americans from
welfare to work, based on the false claim that the proposal gutted the
work requirements in TANF. Indeed, this false GOP claim received a
“Pants On Fire” designation from PolitiFact.
* Waste of Time Act (The Domestic Prosperity
and Global Freedom Act, H.R. 6) – Although the bill’s proponents claim
that it is needed to accelerate Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) exports,
this bill would not have that effect. The bill is unnecessary because
the Department of Energy is already aggressively approving LNG exports.
To date, DOE has approved seven export applications. The amounts
already approved for export would transform the U.S. into the world’s
second largest exporter of LNG, just behind Qatar. If one more
application is granted, the U.S. would become the world’s largest
exporter of LNG.
* Preempting State Water Rights Act
(Sacramento-San Joaquin Valley Emergency Water Delivery Act, H.R. 3964) –
Instead of creating jobs, this bill sets a dangerous precedent of
preempting state water rights, leaving other states vulnerable to this
kind of unwarranted federal interference. It repeals existing law
regarding the use of water in California and unravels a key water
settlement reached by the state of California, local ranchers, farmers,
and other users of water from the San Joaquin River that has been
decades in the making. It dismisses the best available science, repeals
environmental protections, damages local tourism, hurts fishermen and
farmers, and would cause job losses.
* On Behalf of Special Interests, Working to
Undermine Wall Street Reforms Act (Small Business Capital Access and Job
Preservation Act, H.R. 1105) – Instead of creating jobs, this bill
exempts private equity funds from the disclosure requirements that the
Congress included in Wall Street Reform to allow regulators to assess
systemic risks – with such disclosure necessary to make the financial
market more transparent and protect investors.
* Anti-Worker Act (Working Families Flexibility
Act, H.R. 1406) – Instead of creating jobs, this bill gives employers
the flexibility to substitute overtime pay to their workers with comp
time. Under the bill’s provisions, workers will not get paid for hours
that exceed 40 hours per week. That pay will instead go into an
employer-controlled pot to be paid later. Furthermore, employers could
schedule excessive overtime hours and only offer overtime work to
workers who agree to take comp time instead of overtime wages.
* Pro-Polluter Act (Energy Consumers Relief,
H.R. 1582) – Instead of creating jobs, this extreme bill blocks the
Environmental Protection Agency’s authority to put in place critical
public health rules to reduce pollution that harms the air we breathe,
the water we drink, and the climate.
10 Generally Modest Bills with Bipartisan Support; Still Under Consideration in Senate; Not Significant “Jobs” Bills
* Central Oregon Jobs and Water Security Act
(H.R. 2640) – Still Under Consideration in Senate – This is a modest,
bipartisan, noncontroversial bill that passed the House under suspension
of the rules by voice vote. It contains provisions designed to provide
a long-term water supply for the City of Prineville, Oregon and the
surrounding area and generate clean and emissions-free hydropower. It
is still under consideration in the Senate.
* Veterans Economic Opportunity Act (H.R. 2481)
– Still Under Consideration in Senate – This is a bipartisan,
noncontroversial bill that passed the House under suspension of the
rules by voice vote. It creates a Veterans Economic Opportunity
Administration within the VA to administer existing vocational,
education and other assistance programs for veterans. It also clarifies
foreclosure and refinancing protections for veterans and extends
certain homeless veterans reintegration programs. It is still under
consideration in the Senate.
* Success and Opportunity Through Quality
Charter Schools Act (H.R. 10) – Still Under Consideration in Senate –
This is a modest, bipartisan bill that passed the House by a bipartisan
vote of 360 to 45. This bill reauthorizes and strengthens the Charter
School Program, which supports the planning, development, and initial
implementation of charter schools. It is still under consideration in
the Senate.
* Innovation Act (H.R. 3309) – Still Under
Consideration in Senate – This is a bill that received bipartisan
support, passing the House by a vote of 325 to 91. 130 Democrats voted
for the bill, arguing that it was a positive step forward in promoting
innovators and cracking down on abusive practices of patent “trolls.”
64 Democrats voted against the bill, arguing that it needed
improvements, including better fully protecting the interests of small
businesses. It is still under consideration in the Senate.
* Hire More Heroes Act (H.R. 3474) – Still
Under Consideration in Senate – This is a bipartisan, noncontroversial
bill that passed the House under suspension of the rules by a bipartisan
vote of 406 to 1. It is designed to encourage the hiring of veterans
by allowing employers that hire a veteran who has health coverage
through TRICARE or the Veterans Administration to not count that veteran
towards the 50-employee threshold for triggering the ACA employer
responsibility requirement. It is still under consideration in the
Senate.
* Cybersecurity Information Sharing and
Protection Act (H.R. 624) – Still Under Consideration in Senate – This
is a bill that received some bipartisan support, passing the House by a
vote of 288 to 127. It encourages greater sharing of cyber threat data
between the private sector and the federal government. 92 Democrats
voted for the bill, arguing that it would improve the ability to
successfully defend against cyber threats. 98 Democrats voted against
the bill, arguing that the privacy of Americans was not being adequately
protected. The bill is still under consideration in the Senate.
Although a significant bill, it is not a jobs bill.
* Permanent Internet Tax Freedom Act (H.R.
3086) – Still Under Consideration in Senate – This is a bipartisan bill
that passed the House under suspension of the rules by voice vote. It
permanently extends the Internet Freedom Act, which is set to expire on
November 1 – thereby permanently banning state and local governments
from taxing Internet access. Although it passed by voice vote, some
Democrats expressed concerns that permanently extending the ban could
limit the ability of state and local entities to review Internet
policies. The bill is still under consideration in the Senate.
* Advancing Competency-Based Education
Demonstration Project Act (H.R. 3136) – Still Under Consideration in
Senate – This is a modest, bipartisan, noncontroversial bill that passed
the House by a vote of 414 to 0. It creates some demonstration
projects for competency-based higher education programs that substitute
the assessment of student knowledge in place of such time-based measures
as credit hours or time spent in class. The bill is still under
consideration in the Senate.
* Strengthening Transparency in Higher
Education Act (H.R. 4983) – Still Under Consideration in Senate – This
is a modest, bipartisan, noncontroversial bill that passed the House
under suspension of the rules by voice vote. It requires improvements
in the Education Department’s college comparison website for students
and parents, requiring more detailed information on enrollment, costs,
financial aid, faculty, and graduation rates. The bill is still under
consideration in the Senate.
* Empowering Students through Enhanced
Financial Counseling Act (H.R. 4984) – Still Under Consideration in
Senate – This is a modest, bipartisan, noncontroversial bill that passed
the House by a vote of 405 to 11. It makes improvements in the
financial counseling that recipients of student aid and loans receive so
that students can make more informed choices of how to finance their
education and always know how much they will owe. The bill is still
under consideration in the Senate.
If repugicans believe otherwise, they need to put
their bills up to be scored like the Democrats did with President
Obama’s paid-for jobs bill. This is a simple matter. Not doing so is an
admission that the bills are not actually jobs bills, unless you
consider trickle down fantasies to be a real thing.
Independent analysts found that Obama’s American Jobs Act would have created over 1 million jobs in 1 year. Heck,
House repugicans killed that.
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