Obama kicks off first bipartisan leaders meeting
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President Obama kicked off his latest bipartisan push on Tuesday morning as he met with Democratic and Republican congressional leaders to discuss jobs and the economy.
As Washington braced for another blizzard, bipartisan politics threatened another storm.
“Part of what we would like to see is the ability of Congress to move forward in a more bipartisan fashion on some of the key challenges that the country is facing right now,” Obama said in televised remarks before meeting with the leaders.
“I think it is fair to say that the American people are frustrated by the lack of progress, and although the parties are not going to agree on every single item,’ Obama said there should be areas of agreement.
Democrats in the Senate are hoping to pass their package of bills, including tax credits for job creation, help for local banks to stimulate lending to small businesses and extending unemployment benefits.
Republicans already have questioned the approaches, arguing that debt reduction was more important and that the tax credits may not be the most effective way to deal with the jobs problem.
Obama also said he would discuss creating a commission to deal with the deficit.
Also in the Senate, Republicans likely will get their chance to flex the power of their newly enriched minority when the Democrats seek to confirm President’s Obama nomination of a union attorney for a seat on the National Labor Relations Board.
Up to now, Democrats and the two independents who caucus with them have had 60 votes, generally enough to break a GOP filibuster. But with Sen. Scott Brown (R-Massachusetts) having been sworn in last week, Republicans can block the nomination of Craig Becker, nominated in July to the NLRB.
Becker, a lawyer for the AFL-CIO and the Service Employees International Union, has been opposed by business interests who fear he will be too aggressive in backing the union’s side in disputes before the labor board.
With Republicans opposing Becker, Democrats would need 60 votes to bring the nomination to the floor, where a simple majority is needed for confirmation. The procedural vote, called cloture, had been scheduled for Monday but was delayed because of inclement weather.
The cloture voted could be Brown’s first as senator. During the special election, Brown was strongly backed by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which opposed Becker. The Chamber spent more than $1 million for television ads on Brown’s behalf.
-- Michael Muskal
U.S. President Barack Obama speaks during a meeting with congressional leaders in the Cabinet Room of the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Tuesday, Feb. 9, 2010. Sitting from left are, House Minority Leader John Boehner, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Obama, and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. Obama told Democratic and Republican congressional leaders he wants to move ahead on a jobs bill and other legislative priorities by getting both sides to agree on proposals. Photographer: Mike Theiler/Pool via Bloomberg
