Mailbag: Congress should pass American Jobs Act

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor has said that Republicans won’t even vote on the American Jobs Act. I want to know why.

It would be one thing if the Republican Party, or if Cantor himself, had some specific objection to the act, but to refuse to vote at all makes me worry that there needs to be legislation requiring members of Congress to vote one way or another on each piece of legislation put before them — isn’t that the job of a member of Congress?

Sitting back and doing nothing is either a matter of sheer laziness, in which case they need to be fired, or else it is true that Republicans like Cantor are acting out of spite. The act includes measures that both Democrats and Republicans have long supported, and House Republicans are refusing to consider it.

If representatives would rather reverse, deny, or ignore motions from the president — even if it costs more American jobs — than work together with a Democratic president who is trying to work with them ... well, it just goes to show that the Republicans elected to office are refusing to do the job that they were elected to do.

I would gladly watch Republicans vote no on an act that is fully paid for under President Obama’s deficit-reduction plan, an act that includes new tax cuts to help America’s small businesses, includes tax credits to support businesses that hire veterans and invests $35 billion to prevent the layoffs of up to 280,000 teachers and keep cops and firefighters on the job.

I would gladly watch Republicans vote no, if only to see the public outcry against the Republican Party and watch as more Democrats are voted into office because of Republican incompetence. This at supports small businesses, and it put $1,500 into the pockets of individual American workers. I can’t comprehend anyone voting no at all, unless it was as a result of some anti-American agenda. But if Republican representatives want to be voted out of office, that is totally up to them. I’ll gladly watch them go.

Samantha O’Dell

Newport Beach

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We need bipartisanship on jobs

I am asking Congress to vote for and pass the American Jobs Act. Too many citizens are suffering because of this recession and both parties should be working together for the good of the country and put their differences aside and “do the right thing.”

President Obama is trying to end this recession by creating jobs and helping families get off unemployment, but he need the cooperation of Congress to achieve this end. This is not the time for partisanship; it is time for both parties to come together, during this crucial time, for the good of the country.

Baldwin Cline

Mission Viejo