WASHINGTON — Republicans sparred with President Barack Obama in their Saturday media addresses over proposals to create jobs, further evidence of the difficulty of bipartisan solutions to the nation’s pressing problems.
Obama pushed Congress to use $30 billion that had been set aside to bail out Wall Street to provide loans to small businesses, which the White House calls the engine for job growth.
Republicans, meanwhile, taunted Obama with a familiar refrain: Where are the jobs the president promised in exchange for the billions of dollars already spent?
The barb came a day after the government reported an unexpected decline in unemployment, from 10 percent to 9.7 percent. It was the first drop in seven months. Still, 8.4 million jobs have vanished since the recession began.
“Even though our economy is growing again, these are still tough times for America,” Obama said.
Obama asked Congress to use leftover money from the Troubled Asset Relief Program, or TARP, to help small banks so they can make loans to small businesses.
Rep. Jeb Hensarling of Texas chided Obama: “Americans are still asking, ‘Where are the jobs?’ but all they are getting from Washington is more spending, more taxes, more debt and more bailouts,” Hensarling said.
