President Harry Truman famously ran against a “do-nothing Congress” and managed to be reelected despite a poor economy.  Over the past several weeks, President Obama has attempted to adopt the same tactic for his own reelection campaign.
 
But unlike Truman, President Obama cannot shift the blame for today’s economic problems.  During the first two years of his term, President Obama was in complete control of Washington with Democratic majorities in both the House and Senate.  The failed and unpopular programs in place today – including a $1 trillion stimulus and dramatic health-care overhaul – are the product of his direction. 
 
Now President Obama would like voters to believe that Republicans are blocking legislation that would put Americans back to work.  He fails to mention that his own party still controls the Senate and that there is bipartisan opposition to many of the ideas in his $447 billion American Jobs Act.
 
In truth, Congressional Republicans have offered a host of pro-growth alternatives.  Unlike the President’s proposals, their ideas have found common ground for job creation.
 
                    Stopping Unneeded Government Regulations
 
There are nearly two-dozen jobs bills currently awaiting action in the Senate after earning support from both parties in the House of Representatives.  The proposals would spur economic growth by helping job creators in the private sector and removing unnecessary government regulation.  Many of them champion the greater domestic energy production we desperately need.  According to House Speaker John Boehner, 132 economists say the Republican-led plan is a better choice than the President’s approach. 
 
The House bills recognize that getting the economy moving again means getting government out of the way.  They would create jobs without requiring a blank check from taxpayers.  By contrast, the new “stimulus” spending and tax hikes proposed by the President would make the debt crisis worse and hurt business owners.  As both sides of the aisle have acknowledged, there are smarter, more cost-effective solutions to pursue. 

                         Job-Creating Accomplishments
 
In a divided Congress, lawmaking depends on cooperation.  Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has said that Republicans in the Senate “don’t want to do anything that’s constructive.”  The record proves otherwise. 
 
President Obama has already signed several major pieces of legislation into law that arose from a bipartisan willingness to work together.  In recent weeks, Republicans and Democrats have sent the President an authorization of the Federal Aviation Administration; an extension of the highway transportation bill; and trade agreements with Panama, Colombia, and South Korea.  Each is a jobs win.
 
Last week, a bill introduced by Sen. Scott Brown (R-Mass.) presented another opportunity to take constructive action.  It would repeal the mandate for the government to withhold 3 percent of its payments to small businesses and contractors for their products or services.  Lifting this burden keeps money in the private economy, where it can be used to expand business and hire more employees.
 
                         Support for Pro-Growth Strategies
 
I look forward to enacting more pro-growth strategies that will put Americans back to work.  The President’s policies of the last three years have stalled the economy and kept millions jobless.  Unemployment has stayed at or above 9 percent for the last 33 months – a much different reality than the 3.8 percent rate that President Truman faced in November 1948. 
 
Our economic recovery will not be built on campaign rhetoric but on common ground that supports workable solutions.  By adopting an agenda that promotes tax reform, fewer regulations, and domestic energy, we can do far better than the high-taxing blank check proposed by President Obama. 

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