NEW: House Votes Down Cicilline Jobs Amendment
Friday, February 03, 2012
With unemployment continuing to hover at 10.8% in Rhode Island, the Republican-controlled House of Representatives rejected an amendment offered today by U.S. Congressman David Cicilline (D-RI) that would have required a jobs impact analysis be performed on legislation that passes out of a House committee.
“I’m constantly amazed at how effortlessly the House Republican leadership is able to punt on the important issue of creating jobs,” said Cicilline. “Rather than passing another bill that has little chance of success in the Senate, we should have put aside partisanship and focused on commonsense legislation that will enhance our ability to create jobs.”
Cicilline offered an amendment that would have struck the text of the Pro-Growth Budgeting Act, H.R. 3582, a bill which some critics claim would help hide the true cost of trickle down economic policy, and would have replaced it with the text of his Jobs Score Act, H.R. 3787, which he introduced on January 18, 2012. A companion to Cicilline’s bill, S. 1518, has been introduced in the Senate with bipartisan support.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTThe Jobs Score Act would require the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) to prepare, in addition to providing cost estimates, an analysis of how many jobs will be created, sustained, or terminated – including regional and state-level estimates – as a result of enacting legislation that passes out of a committee in the House. The Pro-Growth Budgeting Act, which Congressman Tom Price (R-GA) introduced in the House, would enact controversial provisions such as the inclusion of subjective and uncertain macroeconomic effects in revenue estimates.
Cicilline’s amendment failed by a vote of 174-245. The Pro-Growth Budgeting Act later passed by a vote of 242-179.
