Moment of Truth: President's Bill Defeated in the Senate

Statement

In September, President Obama came before a joint session of Congress to make his case for a $447 billion stimulus package framed as a jobs bill that would put 26 million unemployed or underemployed Americans back to work. Since that time, he's been aggressively selling his economic plan across the county and during his visit this week to Pittsburgh, Obama called the pending vote in the Senate on his bill, "a moment of truth."

Much like the President's signature spending package, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (known as the economic stimulus bill), his new American Jobs Act earmarks tax dollars to pay teachers' salaries, extension of unemployment benefits, infrastructure spending, and temporary payroll tax breaks. The bill is paid for with $467 billion in permanent tax increases.

Many expressed concern that a second stimulus bill drafted to create temporary public sector jobs would result in the same results as the first: not net gain in permanent private sector jobs while increasing our public debt. Data reveals that since the first stimulus package was signed into law in February 2009, nearly one and a half million Americans have lost their jobs while public debt has increased by almost $4 trillion.

That "moment of truth" for the President's plan came Tuesday evening, when the Senate rejected the measure 50-49.

The following morning, Rep. Murphy took to the House floor to call upon his colleagues to create a new jobs agenda -- focused on unleashing American ingenuity for real private sector growth to take hold (Click here to view the speech).

"Efforts to spur temporary employment are misguided and costly," Congressman Murphy said in an interview after floor his speech. "Instead, Congress should focus on removing the barriers to private sector job and allow American energy exploration to hold. Vast expansion of energy development will create permanent jobs in both the professional and blue collar sectors."

Congressman Murphy's bipartisan jobs legislation will create jobs for civil engineers, operating engineers, architects, laborers, steamfitters, welders, and many more. The Infrastructure Jobs and Energy Independence Act, HR 1861, expands safe offshore oil and gas exploration, and launches $8 trillion in economic output.

"We don't need to be going to other countries to say, "please let us borrow more from you'," Murphy said. "We don't need class warfare. We don't need to attack people because they make a certain amount of money. We don't need to take the revenue from taxing corporate jets for ten years and use it to fund the government for a lousy hour and forty-five minutes. Those may be great talking points, but they are not a jobs plan."

"By opening up drilling, America can halt funding both sides of the War on Terror by sending money to OPEC countries, and dedicate a portion of up to $3.7 trillion in federal oil and gas revenues from the new exploration for investments in new energy technologies, power generation and grid modernization to help put the United States on a path to energy independence," said Murphy. "This jobs bill has support of Republicans and Democrats and will create 1.2 million new jobs each year. Despite the President's insistence, we can this without borrowing or raising taxes."

Congressman Murphy had the opportunity to deliver his message of private sector job creation to job creators from all over the country on Wednesday, as an invited guest speaker at the National Association of Entrepreneurship (NAE) Legislative Summit. The NAE encourages free enterprise and supports innovation and competition in the American economy. Murphy spoke about his own experiences as an entrepreneur having opened up a number of private practices throughout the greater Pittsburgh area when practicing psychology prior to entering public service. He also spoke of the importance of continuing safe Marcellus Shale development in Pennsylvania, and the urgency of developing and using natural gas energy resources to fuel power, job growth, and America's economy.

Rep. Murphy shared stories about the Marcellus Shale creating new business opportunities for Southwestern Pennsylvania innovators like Aquatech in Canonsburg. The company has experience designing desalination plants in water-scarce countries, but is now rolling out on-site portable treatment system that will allow hydraulic fracturers to recycle and reuse millions of gallons of produced water at the drill pad.

Factories and steel plants are also expanding to keep up with the demand for drill pipe and transmission lines. And now, Shell Oil is looking at potential sites to construct a $1 billion facility that will break down "wet gas" for use as a feedstock for plastics and chemicals businesses.

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