In two weeks, President Obama will deliver his seventh State of the Union address (technically, it’s his sixth, because the first one isn’t considered a State of the Union for whatever reason, but avert your eyes Politifact).

This year, President Obama is doing something he’s never done before: He’s laying out some of his State of the Union message and policies ahead of his address to Congress on January 20.

Typically, we try to hold all the news until the day of the speech. And there will still be plenty of moments on the big night. But this year, we figured there’s no time like the present. (For those who closely follow the President’s executive actions, there is a “we can’t wait” joke in there somewhere.) Building on the momentum of the last several weeks, the President didn’t want to wait until the State of the Union to take new steps to help the middle class and lay out his ideas to keep strengthening the economy.

So today, the President is getting out of Washington and taking his message on the road — straight to the people his policies will affect most.

As President Obama travels the country, he’ll be putting forward next steps, too. Call them “SOTU Spoilers.” Some of his announcements will be executive actions, and others will be legislative proposals. And despite what you might hear from the Beltway pundits, this President looks forward to working with the new Republican Congress on ways we can move America forward.

That means working with the 114th Congress to make sure that more middle class families feel the benefits of our recovery. But it also means making sure that the new Congress doesn’t roll back the progress and protections that Americans have fought so hard for over the last six years.

Wayne, Michigan

Today, President Obama will be at Ford’s assembly plant in Wayne, Michigan to talk about the comeback of American manufacturing and the American auto industry. The year before he took office, the auto industry was in collapse, shedding 400,000 jobs. Sales were down 40 percent. Two of the big three auto companies — icons of American ingenuity — were on the brink of failure.

Some were ready to let the entire auto industry fail. You might have even seen headlines proclaiming that was the smart move, politically. But President Obama refused to let more jobs and communities suffer. He made the hard choice to restructure and rebuild, helping those businesses get back on their feet while demanding real change and accountability in return.

Six years later — as the President will note today — the American auto industry has roared back to life. Since mid-2009, they’ve added more than 500,000 jobs. Last year, American autoworkers built cars faster than any year since 2005. Not to mention they’ve repaid taxpayers every dime and more of what the Obama administration committed to them.

Phoenix, Arizona

Thursday in Phoenix, the President will take stock of how far our housing market has come. In 2009, the housing market was in freefall. Thanks in part to President Obama’s swift intervention when he took office, our housing market is on much firmer footing. Rising home values have helped millions of families who were underwater on their mortgages, and new foreclosures are at their lowest levels since 2006.

Still, homeownership is out of reach for too many Americans — families who can afford to buy a home, but find themselves shut out because the lending market is too tight. That’s why the President will announce a new executive action that will help more responsible Americans own a home, building on efforts already underway to cut red tape that holds them back.

Knoxville, Tennessee

This Friday, President Obama will travel to Tennessee with the Vice President to propose ways to help more young Americans go to college and get ahead. In today’s economy, access to a college education is the surest ticket to the middle class — and the President’s proposals will help more young people punch that ticket.

In Tennessee, he’ll also launch a new manufacturing innovation hub — a private-sector partnership that will attract more good-paying middle-class jobs in high-tech manufacturing to Tennessee.

We have come a long way since that first State of the Union address six years ago.

We’ve created nearly 11 million jobs over the past 57 months — the longest streak of private-sector job growth on record. 2014 was our strongest year of job growth since the ‘90s. In the last year alone, about 10 million Americans have gained health insurance thanks to the Affordable Care Act. Drivers are saving more than a dollar a gallon at the pump relative to this time last year. We’ve seen the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan come to a responsible end, and more of our troops are coming home to their families.

There’s a lot more to do. And I can promise you that in the eight years I have worked for President Obama, I have never seen him more fired up about the road ahead.

So stay tuned. Because as the President said about the next two years:

“My presidency is entering the fourth quarter. Interesting stuff happens in the fourth quarter.”

President Barack Obama has lunch with Rebekah Erler at Matt's Bar in Minneapolis, Minn., June 26, 2014. Erler is a 36-year-old working wife and mother of two pre-school aged boys who had written the President a letter about economic difficulties. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

Going all the way back to the early days of the campaign, whenever President Obama shook off his schedule and busted out of the bubble, we would say “the Bear is loose.”

Lately, the Bear has been loose a lot, and this week will be no different. The President is hitting the road on a three-day swing to Colorado and Texas, where he will meet with Americans who’ve written him letters and whose stories – their challenges and successes – resonate with folks from across the country.

While congressional Republicans continue to block votes on important issues like equal pay and the minimum wage and undertake taxpayer-funded political stunts like Speaker Boehner’s plan to sue the President for doing his job, the President will continue to do everything in his power – with and without Congress – to create economic opportunity for all Americans.

The day after the State of the Union, a woman named Alex received a raise, allowing her to pay rent and afford groceries without worry. Alex’s boss was inspired by the President’s call and increased her wage right away. Earlier this year, Alex wrote the President to say “thank you.”

Tonight, the President will deliver his reply in person when he meets Alex for dinner in Denver. And tomorrow, she’ll introduce the President before his remarks in Denver.

On Thursday in Austin, TX, the President will highlight the actions his Administration has taken – more than 40 since January – to benefit hardworking Americans. From helping to create new manufacturing jobs, to expanding apprenticeships and job training, and from making student loan payments more affordable, to cutting carbon pollution, the President’s used his pen and phone on behalf of folks all across the country.

We’ve come a long way since President Obama took office. Thanks to the grit and resilience of the American people, we’ve made progress and there’s reason to be optimistic. Last week, our latest jobs report showed that we've undergone the fastest job growth in the United States in the first half of the year since 1999, with five consecutive months of job growth over 200,000. Yet we know there’s still much more to do.

The President will continue to do his part – focusing on growing our economy from the middle out, not the top down. And he’ll continue to urge Republicans in Congress to join him in working for the folks he hears from every day – Americans like Alex, whom the leaders in Washington were sent to serve.

Didn't get the email? Make sure you're signed up for White House email updates.

The President made something very clear in his State of the Union address this past January:

Wherever and whenever he can take action to expand opportunity for more American families, he's going to do it, with Congress or without.

Republicans in Congress have actually set records in obstruction and inaction, blocking simple yes-or-no votes on proposals that would create jobs and expand opportunity for more Americans. On the other hand, the President has steadily acted on his own to help build real, lasting economic security for the middle class.

We're talking about actions that are:

• Creating new manufacturing hubs to spur new research and private-sector activity in communities across the country
• Expanding apprenticeships and job training programs that we know prepare workers for jobs of the future 
• Getting the long-term unemployed back to work
• Addressing the gender pay gap
• Making college a reality for more young Americans
• Raising the minimum wage for employees on new federal contracts

And that's just to name a few.

But don't take my word for it -- watch President Obama describe in his own words just a few of the more than 20 actions the Administration has taken so far this year. Take a look, and then share this with someone who needs to see it.

Of course, Congress has the ability to expand opportunity for more Americans even further.

And the President is just as eager now as he was four months ago to work with lawmakers when they are willing to act on behalf of working Americans.

But in the meantime, he's not standing still -- and that means working with the private sector, state and local officials, and anyone else who's interested in building an economy where more hardworking people can get ahead. That's what's happening right now, and it's what's going to continue happening over the course of this year.

Take a look at what we've done so far this year -- and if you learn something new, make sure you pass it on.

Thanks.

Learn more:

• Check out our Year of Action page for more details about the actions the President has taken so far in 2014.
• If you're standing with the President in 2014, let him know.
• Read more about the President's plan to provide opportunity for more Americans.

And if you still need health insurance, go to HealthCare.gov and get enrolled today.

Note: Looking for President Obama's 2014 NCAA tournament bracket?

President Obama loves basketball -- he loves to play the game, and he loves to watch it at all levels.

And every March, just like millions of college hoops fans, he sits down to fill out his bracket. It's something of a ritual around here -- and in the years when Georgetown's been knocked out before the Sweet 16, the President couldn't wait to give me a hard time for picking them to advance.

But basketball isn't the only important thing happening this month: Open enrollment ends in just 14 days, and we need your help getting folks covered.

So as you're filling out your basketball bracket, we put together another bracket -- featuring the 16 "sweetest" reasons to get covered. And yes, for good measure those reasons come with animated GIFs of cute animals, because the Internet loves GIFs of cute animals (and why not?).

By helping to decide the winner, you'll also be spreading the word to millions of Americans about the importance of getting covered. Vote on your favorite reason -- and we'll tally up your votes all week.

March 31 is the last day to sign up for health insurance in 2014, and there are plenty of reasons to get covered:

Thanks to the health care law, women can't be charged more than men for the same care. And no one can deny you health care coverage because of a pre-existing condition.

Those are just a few reasons that more than 5 million Americans have already signed up for coverage through the Health Insurance Marketplace.

Vote for your favorite reason:

http://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/ACABracket

Every year it's the same: In the days leading up to the State of the Union, the phone rings off the hook with everyone trying to figure out what will be in the President's address.

We're now just four days out -- and the President wanted you to get the first preview of what this speech is all about. As always, he'll be working on it right up until game time, but three words sum up the President's message on Tuesday night: opportunity, action, and optimism.

The core idea is as American as they come: If you work hard and play by the rules, you should have the opportunity to succeed. Your ability to get ahead should be based on your hard work and ambition and who you want to be, not just the raw circumstance of who you are when you're born.

On Tuesday night, the President will lay out a set of real, concrete, practical proposals to grow the economy, strengthen the middle class, and empower all who hope to join it.

RSVP now and watch the enhanced State of the Union on WhiteHouse.gov this Tuesday night.

In this year of action, the President will seek out as many opportunities as possible to work with Congress in a bipartisan way. But when American jobs and livelihoods depend on getting something done, he will not wait for Congress.

President Obama has a pen and he has a phone, and he will use them to take executive action and enlist every American -- business owners and workers, mayors and state legislators, young people, veterans, and folks in communities from across the country -- in the project to restore opportunity for all.

It will be an optimistic speech. Thanks to the grit and determination of citizens like you, America has a hard-earned right to that optimism. Five years after the President inherited the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, our businesses have created more than eight million new jobs in the past 46 months, and they're primed to create more.

With some action on all our parts, we can help more jobseekers find work, and more working Americans find the economic security they deserve. That's why, in the week following the speech, President Obama will travel to communities across the country -- including Prince George’s County Maryland, Pittsburgh, Milwaukee, and Nashville, before returning to the White House to outline new efforts to help the long-term unemployed.

You need to tune in on Tuesday -- because this is about you.

Right now, Congress has two jobs: to pass a budget that invests in the middle class and to pay the bills it has already incurred.

But instead of doing their jobs, a few reckless Republicans in Congress are so obsessed with refighting old political battles over Obamacare that they're threatening to shut down the government and stop paying the country's bills.

On Friday, these House Republicans voted to shut down the government unless the Senate and the President agree to defund Obamacare. This week, instead of playing those games, the Senate is set to send a simple budget resolution back to the House -- one that keeps the government open for a few months while leaders continue to work on a budget that creates jobs and cuts the deficit in a balanced way. That's a reasonable solution.

But some Republicans still care more about scoring political points on Obamacare than keeping the government open and our economy moving forward.

This kind of up-to-the-final-hour brinksmanship is beyond irresponsible, and it could reverse the hard-earned economic progress we've made by creating another crisis. Unfortunately, we've watched them run this play before, and we know what it looks like. Two years ago, these Republicans held the economy hostage, and as a result our credit rating was downgraded, the stock market plummeted 17 percent, consumer confidence dropped like a rock, and businesses stopped hiring.

That's why it's time for GOP lawmakers to pass a simple budget resolution that doesn't defund Obamacare and move on.

We need your help to spread the word so that Americans know what's going on, so forward this message to your friends and family.

In the five years since the financial crisis began, the American people have pushed the economy forward. Over the past 42 months, businesses have added 7.5 million jobs. American manufacturing is growing again, and the auto industry is back. We've reformed Wall Street so that no company is ever again too big to fail and created the toughest consumer financial protections this nation has ever seen. We've cut our deficit by more than half, made the tax code more progressive, and reformed our health care system.

Today, there is record demand for American products abroad, and our tech companies are booming. The housing market is coming back -- sales of existing homes are up by double digits and new foreclosures are down to the lowest levels since the start of 2006.

We need to keep building momentum. So we're asking Congress to join the President in creating a better bargain for the middle class, and give up on manufacturing a new political crisis. For that to happen, reasonable Congressional Republicans have to stand up to a few extreme members of their party for the good of the country and our economy.

From the day he took office, President Obama has been open to any good idea when it comes to the budget, as long as supporting middle-class families remains our North Star. Republicans won't extract concessions over the full faith and credit of the United States.

Will you help spread the word? Share this message so that people know what's about to happen to the economy if Congress doesn't act.

Eight years ago, not long after he was elected to the United States Senate, President Obama went to Knox College in his home state of Illinois where he laid out his economic vision for the country. It’s a vision that says America is strongest when everybody’s got a shot at opportunity – not when our economy is winner-take-all, but when we’re all in this together.

Revisiting that speech, it’s clear that it sowed the seeds of a consistent vision for the middle class he’s followed ever since. It’s a vision he carried through his first campaign in 2008, it’s a vision he carried through speeches like the one he gave at Georgetown University shortly after taking office that imagined a new foundation for our economy and one in Osawatomie, Kansas on economic inequality in 2011 -- and it’s a vision he carried through his last campaign in 2012.

Watch that history here and see why this moment is so important.

All of these speeches – Knox College, Georgetown, Osawatomie – make clear that since day one, the President has had one clear economic philosophy: The American economy works best when it grows from the middle-out, not the top down.

This Wednesday, almost five years after the financial crisis fueled a devastating recession, and two years after a debate over whether or not America would pay its bills that harmed our recovery, the President will return to Knox College to kick off a series of speeches that will lay out his vision for rebuilding an economy that puts the middle class and those fighting to join it front and center. He’ll talk about the progress we’ve made together, the challenges that remain, and the path forward.

And over the next several weeks, the President will deliver speeches that touch on the cornerstones of what it means to be middle class in America: job security, a good education, a home to call your own, affordable health care when you get sick, and the chance to save for a secure, dignified retirement. They will include new ideas and new pushes for ideas he has discussed before. They’ll outline steps Congress can take, steps he’ll take on his own, and steps the private sector can take that benefit us all.

The point is to chart a course for where America needs to go – not just in the next three months or even the next three years, but a steady, persistent effort over the long term to restore this country’s basic bargain for the middle class.

Why now? Well, we've made important progress with the Senate passing comprehensive immigration reform and will continue to work with the House to push to get that enacted into law. But the President thinks Washington has largely taken its eye off the ball on the most important issue facing the country. Instead of talking about how to help the middle class, too many in Congress are trying to score political points, refight old battles, and trump up phony scandals. And in a couple of months, we will face some more critical budget deadlines that require Congressional action, not showdowns that only serve to harm families and businesses -- and the President wants to talk about the issues that should be at the core of that debate.

As I was reading through his draft, I was reminded what drives this President to work so hard. I hope you’ll watch this video showing the context of the last eight years and then tune in on Wednesday to find out. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.

But now, Republicans are taking their attempts to manipulate the federal judiciary to an entirely new level. Right as our D.C. Circuit Court nominee Sri Srinivasan was confirmed unanimously, Republicans started pushing a proposal to reduce the number of judges on the D.C. Circuit from 11 to 8, a blatant attempt to shrink President Obama’s constitutional authority to fill this court. As President Franklin Delano Roosevelt learned when he tried to pack the Supreme Court, the three branches of government are coequal for a reason. Neither the executive branch or the legislative branch should use the third branch to a pursue a partisan agenda.

And on the merits, Senator Grassley’s “court unpacking proposal” fails to make any sense. In fact, in 2005, the Senate – including Senator Grassley – voted to confirm Judge Janice Rogers Brown to the D.C. Circuit as the tenth active judge and Judge Thomas Griffith as the eleventh active judge.  In 2006, the Senate – again, including Senator Grassley – voted to confirm Judge Brett Kavanaugh as the tenth active judge. Voting for judicial nominees for court seats under one president while proposing to eliminate those same seats under the president of a different political party smacks of partisan politics.

The proposal raises even more questions because in 2007, Congress passed a law to move the D.C. Circuit’s 12th seat, agreeing that the Court needed 11 seats. What has changed since then, other than the President? There are currently eight active judges on the D.C. Circuit. Republicans had no problem filling the ninth, tenth, and eleventh seats on this Court during Republican presidential administrations, but under this President, they want to remove them. In fact, the past five presidents each have had at least three judges confirmed to the D.C. Circuit – and 15 of the past 19 judges confirmed to this Court have been appointed by Republican presidents.  But so far, only one of President Obama’s nominees has been confirmed.

Make no mistake about it: this is court packing in reverse and a cynical attempt to manipulate the third branch of government.

View full size | Download as PDF

The only party unwilling to compromise to avoid these devastating cuts are Congressional Republicans, who would rather see our recovery and middle class economic security be put at risk than close one tax loophole for big corporations and the wealthiest.

Tonight, in an effort to distract from this reality, the Leader of the Republican party took to the opinion pages of the Wall Street Journal to engage in an amazing act of revisionist history. Instead of communicating with the American people - who support a balanced approach to reduce the deficit - about finding a compromise, the Republican Leadership once again launched a series of false attacks instead of putting forward ways to resolve this issue in a bipartisan way.

So let's set the record straight.

1. Speaker Boehner asked “What spending are you willing to cut to replace it?” Here they are: The fact is, the President has a detailed, balanced plan with spending cuts. He is willing to make tough choices. Now it’s time for the Speaker to do the same. The Speaker has yet to name one tax loophole he’s willing to close. Not one.
2. The Speaker said the sequester is "an ugly and dangerous way" to cut spending. We agree. But in the past he’s led Congressional Republicans to threaten the sequester as a political tool. In the Wall Street Journal on January 6, 2013: “Mr. Boehner says he has significant Republican support, including GOP defense hawks, on his side for letting the sequester do its work. ‘I got that in my back pocket,’ the speaker says.”
3. In that same article in the Wall Street Journal Speaker Boehner boasts about using the sequester as leverage. “Republican willingness to support the sequester, Mr. Boehner says, is ‘as much leverage as we're going to get.’ That leverage, he reasons, is what will force Democrats to the table on entitlements.”
4. It’s time for Speaker Boehner to explain to the American people what he actually meant. The Speaker claims the sequester was a last minute agreement to resolve the debt limit increase the President wanted. Simply not true. In fact, it was the Speaker who praised the sequester at the time. Following the deal, he said “When you look at this final agreement that we came to with the White House, I got 98 percent of what I wanted. I'm pretty happy.” In fact, the final vote count was 269-161 – with 174 Republicans in favor. Speaker Boehner, Rep. Cantor and Rep. Ryan all voted yes.
5. Speaker Boehner argues the President has "put forth no detailed plan that can pass Congress". Here’s the plan.  It’s balanced and it includes spending cuts. The President is willing to make tough choices. It’s time for Speaker Boehner and Congressional Republicans to do the same.
6. Speaker Boehner claims we haven't been serious about entitlement reform. The opposite is true: Here’s the plan. It’s on the table. Now it’s time for Congressional Republicans to come to the table and take a balanced approach to avoid these devastating cuts.
7. Where is the Republican plan? The GOP bill expired. If they’re confident the draconian cuts will win support in Congress and more importantly – with the American people -- they should bring it up for a vote.

Learn More:

• What Is the Sequester?
• A Balanced Plan to Avert the Sequester and Reduce the Deficit
• Fact Sheets: State-by-state consequences of the sequester

First, the notion that President Obama hasn't put forward a solution to deal with these looming cuts is false. In the fall of 2011, the President put forward a proposal to the Supercommittee for the specific purpose of laying out his vision to resolve the sequester and reduce our deficit by over $4 trillion dollars in a balanced way- by cutting spending, finding savings in entitlement programs and asking the wealthiest to pay their fair share. That proposal would have completely turned off the sequester while further reducing our deficit and ensuring we could still invest in the things we need to grow our economy and create jobs.  That same approach was presented to Congress in the President's budget last year.  And the President's last offer to Speaker Boehner in December remains on the table- an offer that meets the Republicans halfway on spending and on revenues, and would permanently turn off the sequester and put us on a fiscally sustainable path.

We should have a debate over how to best reduce the deficit. But with only three weeks until these indiscriminate cuts hit, Congress should find a short term package to give themselves a little more time to find a solution to permanently turn off the sequester. That package should have balance and include spending cuts and revenues.

And over the long-term, we need to find a solution that does this in a balanced way. The President has already reduced the deficit by over $2.5 trillion, cutting spending by over $1.4 trillion. And he's willing to do more. And we can't just cut our way to prosperity. Even as we look for ways to reduce deficits over the long term, our core mission is to grow the economy in a way that strengthens the middle class and everyone willing to work hard to get into it.

But we are not willing to accept the "my way or the highway" approach backed by Congressional Republicans that asks the middle class and seniors to bear all the burden while the very wealthiest individuals, big corporations and oil and gas companies continue to enjoy big tax loopholes that are unavailable to middle class Americans and small businesses.

A month ago, Speaker Boehner openly told the Wall Street Journal that he planned to use threat of harm to the country posed by the sequester as "leverage" to push for a partisan, unbalanced plan:

Mr. Boehner says he has significant Republican support, including GOP defense hawks, on his side for letting the sequester do its work. "I got that in my back pocket," the speaker says. He is counting on the president's liberal base putting pressure on him when cherished domestic programs face the sequester's sharp knife. Republican willingness to support the sequester, Mr. Boehner says, is "as much leverage as we're going to get."

If Republicans in Congress want spending cuts, there is a simple way to get them that will not imperil our economy, our national security, or vital programs that middle class families depend on: come to the table for a balanced plan that also closes loopholes for millionaires and billionaires.  The unbalanced Republican approach does not reflect our values as a nation, and would not help our economy continue the important progress we are making. It's time for Congress to act. 

The American people have been clear that they will not accept an economic approach that places too big of a burden on the middle class, seniors, students and the most vulnerable Americans while asking too little of the wealthiest Americans.  The Congressional Republican “Plan B” legislation continues large tax cuts for the very wealthiest individuals - on average, millionaires would see a tax break of $50,000 - while eliminating tax cuts that 25 million students and families struggling to make ends meet depend on and ending critical incentives for our nation’s businesses. It would also cut off a vital lifeline of unemployment assistance to 2 million Americans fighting to find a job just a few days after Christmas, while deeply cutting Medicare. The deficit reduction is minimal, and perversely, given its authors, solely through tax increases with no spending cuts. This approach does not meet the test of balance, and the President would veto the legislation in the unlikely event of its passage.

The President believes this moment presents both sides an opportunity to reach a significant, balanced deal that is good for American families, the economy and for our nation’s future.  He has put forward a proposal that meets the Speaker halfway on both taxes and spending, offering to work with Republicans to cut spending by an additional more than one trillion dollars beyond what he has already signed into law.  The President urges the Republican leadership to work with us to resolve remaining differences and find a reasonable solution to this situation today instead of engaging in political exercises that increase the possibility that taxes go up on every American. The American people are watching closely and deserve no less.

In addition to the statement, the White House released a fact sheet detailing the harmful impacts of the Congressional Republican “Plan B” legislation.

Learn more about President Obama's plan to extend middle class tax cuts

Find out how middle class Americans say they would be impacted if their taxes go up in January 

Charles,

I take your criticism seriously and you are correct that you are owed an apology. There was clearly an internal confusion about the two busts and there was no intention to deceive. I clearly overshot the runway in my post. The point I was trying to make – under the belief that the Bust in the residence was the one previously in the Oval Office-- was that this oft repeated talking point about the bust being a symbol of President Obama’s failure to appreciate the special relationship is false.  The bust that was returned was returned as a matter of course with all the other artwork that had been loaned to President Bush for display in his Oval Office and not something that President Obama or his Administration chose to do. I still think this is an important point and one I wish I had communicated better.

A better understanding of the facts on my part and a couple of deep breaths at the outset would have prevented this situation.  Having said all that, barring a miracle comeback from the Phillies I would like to see the Nats win a world series even if it comes after my apology

Thanks,

Dan Pfeiffer

Now, normally we wouldn’t address a rumor that’s so patently false, but just this morning the Washington Post’s Charles Krauthammer repeated this ridiculous claim in his column.  He said President Obama “started his Presidency by returning to the British Embassy the bust of Winston Churchill that had graced the Oval Office.”

This is 100% false. The bust still in the White House. In the Residence. Outside the Treaty Room. 

News outlets have debunked this claim time and again. First, back in 2010 the National Journal reported that “the Churchill bust was relocated to a prominent spot in the residence to make room for Abraham Lincoln, a figure from whom the first African-American occupant of the Oval Office might well draw inspiration in difficult times.” And just in case anyone forgot, just last year the AP reported that President Obama “replaced the Oval Office fixture with a bust of one of his American heroes, President Abraham Lincoln, and moved the Churchill bust to the White House residence.”

In case these news reports are not enough for Mr. Krauthammer and others, here’s a picture of the President showing off the Churchill bust to Prime Minister Cameron when he visited the White House residence in 2010.

President Barack Obama shows Prime Minister David Cameron of the United Kingdom a bust of Sir Winston Churchill in the private residence of the White House, July 20, 2010. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

Hopefully this clears things up a bit and prevents folks from making this ridiculous claim again.

Update:

Since my post on the fact that the bust of Winston Churchill has remained on display in the White House, despite assertions to the contrary, I have received a bunch of questions -- so let me provide some additional info. The White House has had a bust of Winston Churchill since the 1960’s. At the start of the Bush administration Prime Minister Blair lent President Bush a bust that matched the one in the White House, which was being worked on at the time and was later returned to the residence.  The version lent by Prime Minister Blair was displayed by President Bush until the end of his Presidency.  On January 20, 2009 -- Inauguration Day -- all of the art lent specifically for President Bush’s Oval Office was removed by the curator’s office, as is common practice at the end of every presidency. The original Churchill bust remained on display in the residence. The idea put forward by Charles Krauthammer and others that President Obama returned the Churchill bust or refused to display the bust because of antipathy towards the British is completely false and an urban legend that continues to circulate to this day. 

But rather than move on and act on the President’s plans to cut taxes and strengthen the economy, today House Republicans voted to repeal the health care law. And this is far from the first time Congressional Republicans have chosen to re-fight old political battles:

• Today’s vote in the House marks the 33^rd time House Republicans have voted to roll back the health care law.
• Since being sworn in, the House has voted in 15 of 19 months to “repeal, defund, or dismantle” the Affordable Care Act.
• The House has voted to “repeal, defund, or dismantle” the Affordable Care Act nearly 2 times a month on average.

The last thing Congress should do is start over on health care by raising taxes on the middle class and repealing the entire law. Instead, Congress should enact the President’s proposal which extends the current tax rates for every single American family on their first $250,000 of income, ensuring that middle class families don’t see a tax hike at the end of the year.

President Barack Obama delivers remarks at the Associated Press (AP) Luncheon at the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel in Washington, D.C., April 3, 2012. (Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

The President believes this is a make or break moment for the middle class and those working to reach it.  That’s why he has put forward a blueprint for an economy built to last - one where everyone gets a fair shot, everyone does their fair share, and everyone plays by the same rules.  

Today at the Associated Press Luncheon, the President discussed how his vision differs with the radical vision laid out in the House Republican Budget: 

“This Congressional Republican budget, however, is something different altogether.  It’s a Trojan Horse.  Disguised as deficit reduction plan, it’s really an attempt to impose a radical vision on our country.  It’s nothing but thinly-veiled Social Darwinism.  It’s antithetical to our entire history as a land of opportunity and upward mobility for everyone who’s willing to work for it – a place where prosperity doesn’t trickle down from the top, but grows outward from the heart of the middle class.  And by gutting the very things we need to grow an economy that’s built to last – education and training; research and development – it’s a prescription for decline.”

The President’s approach to reducing our deficit is a balanced approach that asks the wealthiest to pay their fair share, achieves significant health savings and enacts sensible spending cuts while making the investments we need to have a strong middle class.  

Take a look at how the President’s approach and the Congressional Republican policies stack up side by side: 

Side by Side - The President’s Budget vs. Republican Budget

It’s a test of fairness.  The Congressional Republican budget gives every millionaire and billionaire a tax cut of at least $150,000 paid for by ending Medicare as we know it and gutting programs that help the middle class and our economy.  This graphic shows just what that $150,000 means to those programs our economic recovery depends on: 

The House Republican Budget – The Budget Fails the Test of Balance, Fairness, and Shared Responsibility

By standing by massive tax cuts we can’t afford paid for by the middle class and seniors, the Republican establishment has rubber stamped the economic policies of the past that caused the financial crisis in the first place.   Just take a look at how much the Republican policies of the past added to our deficit: 

 Changes in Deficit Projections Since January 2001

At this critical moment for our economy and the middle class, the President will continue to stand by a policy of fairness that reflects our core values as a nation.  

The fact is, oil is bought and sold in a world market.  And just like last year, the biggest thing that’s causing the price of oil to rise right now is instability in the Middle East. 

The truth is that there is no silver bullet to address rising gas prices in the short term, but there are steps we can take to ensure the American people don’t fall victim to skyrocketing gas prices over the long term.  That’s why since taking office the President has been focused on a sustained, “all-of-the-above” approach to developing new domestic energy sources, expanding oil and gas production, and reducing our reliance on foreign oil, most notably through the historic fuel economy standards the President has established, which will nearly double the efficiency of the vehicles we drive and save families $1.7 trillion at the pump.  It’s true that in the near term, the U.S. will continue to rely on responsibly produced oil and gas, but over the long term, the Obama administration is committed to a policy that allows us to transition from oil towards cleaner alternatives and energy efficiency. This strategy is a win-win scenario. A win for the economy. A win for energy security. And a win for the environment. Despite the facts, Republicans have continued to ratchet up the rhetoric, distorting facts and in some cases pushing complete falsehoods for short term political gains.

Here are some of the claims that have been made recently, and the reality that the politicians making those claims fail to acknowledge.

“Over the last three years, your administration has blocked, slowed, and discouraged the production of critical American energy sources.”

False.  The numbers speak for themselves. Since 2008, U.S. oil and natural gas production has increased each year, while imports of foreign oil have decreased.

• In 2011, U.S. crude oil production reached its highest level in 8 years, increasing by an estimated 110,000 barrels per day over 2010 levels to 5.59 million barrels per day.
• U.S. natural gas production grew in 2011 – the largest year-over-year volumetric increase in history – and easily eclipsed the previous all-time production record set in 1973.

Even if you fail to give the Obama Administration the credit it deserves in helping to expand this production, any notion that production has been blocked or slowed, doesn’t square with the facts.

“This President continues to limit offshore areas to energy production and is granting fewer leases on public land for oil drilling.”

False. In the wake of the largest oil spill in U.S. history the Obama Administration put in place important new standards that ensured that drilling continued, but that the lessons of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill were recognized, and guided future production. Today drilling and production continues, but in line with these important new standards. In fact, since new standards were put into place last year, the administration has approved hundreds of permits for drilling in the Gulf of Mexico, including:

• 308 permits for deep water drilling activities for 94 unique wells in the Gulf of Mexico and;
• 113 permits for shallow water wells in the Gulf of Mexico.

In fact, we are now permitting at levels seen before the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, all while meeting these important new standards.

Additionally, we believe an all-of-the-above approach doesn’t need to come at-any-cost. That is why just as we make available more than 75 percent of our potential offshore oil and gas resources, the Obama Administration continues to study the feasibility of exploration, development, and production in other areas. We will move forward, but in a manner that is safe and sensible. We need to protect sensitive ecosystems, and we don’t have to indulge the false choice between our energy security and the environment.

“President Barack Obama likes to take credit for this energy boom, but in reality, recent U.S. energy growth is largely a result of private-sector investment and policies put in place by his predecessors. The energy policies this president has adopted are jeopardizing the progress we have made, and if he continues them, the U.S. energy boom could soon be over.”

Since 2008, U.S. oil and natural gas production has increased each year, while imports of foreign oil have decreased. Much of that production is on private lands, and the President believes that we want to be expanding responsible production across the country not just on public lands.

We have taken steps to extend existing leases in the Gulf of Mexico and Alaska. In addition, in December the administration held a lease sale that covered over 20 million acres in the Gulf of Mexico, and last month the President announced an additional sale that will cover 38 million acres and produce up to 1 billion barrels of oil and 4 trillion cubic feet of natural gas.

Lastly and most importantly, we have put in place new rules to ensure that oil and gas companies are using the leases they have, and not just sitting on them. A report released last year by the Department of the Interior found that about 57 percent of leased onshore acres and over 70 percent of leased offshore acres were not being developed by the oil and gas companies that own them. And in 2010, of the nearly 37 million offshore acres offered for lease by the Federal government, only 2.4 million acres were leased by companies.

And EIA has projected that this trend of increased production will continue for the foreseeable future.

“On federal land, energy production fell 11 percent last year, and your draft five-year plan for off shore exploration projects a decline in federal leasing and permitting.”

On federal lands, we are taking steps to encourage increased production. Of course, public lands do not tell the whole story. Overall, since 2008, U.S. oil and gas production is up, and last year more oil was produced in this country than at any time since 2003. And despite a shift of industry interest away from producing on public lands, we continue to offer and permit more public land for development and production. Today, the U.S. has more oil and rigs at work in the field than the entire rest of the world. And, for federal waters, the Administration has announced the 2012-2017 Offshore Oil and Gas Development Program, which will make available more than 75 percent of our potential offshore oil and gas resources.

As you can see, the claims and the facts just don’t add up.

But our production record doesn’t end there.

• Earlier this month the Obama Administration announced the next steps towards further energy exploration in the Arctic.  And last week, we joined Mexico in an agreement that will make more than 1.5 million acres in the Gulf available for exploration and production, which contains an estimated 172 million barrels of oil and 304 billion cubic feet of natural gas.
• The Administration has proposed an Oil and Gas Leasing Program for 2012-2017, which makes available more than 75 percent of estimated undiscovered oil and gas resources on the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf. The proposed program schedules 15 potential lease sales, 12 in the Gulf of Mexico and three off the coast of Alaska, advancing safe and responsible domestic energy exploration and production by offering substantial acreage for lease in regions with known potential for oil and gas development.
• We are encouraging development of mineral resources in the Rocky Mountain West. For example, in February, we made more than half a million acres available for research and development of oil shale and other unconventional oil resources.
• Last year, the President established an interagency Alaska working group, which has been working to improve the efforts of Federal agencies responsible for overseeing the safe and responsible development of onshore and offshore energy in Alaska.  The group has been coordinating review of Shell’s proposed exploration activities in the Arctic, where we have not only extended leases, but are on track to approve exploratory development this summer.
• Onshore in Alaska, this Administration committed to holding annual lease sales.  In December 2011 we held a lease sale that covered over 140,000 acres and generated $3.6 million in total bids. 
• We have made enormous progress on renewable permitting for federal lands.  In all the years leading up to 2009, the federal government permitted a total 1,530 megawatts of clean energy – including zero megawatts of solar. But in the last three years, we have approved 29 onshore renewable energy projects to reach approximately 6,600 additional megawatts – including 16 solar projects, 5 wind farms, and 8 geothermal facilities. In this State of the Union address, the President set a goal to reach 10,000 megawatts by the end of this year – enough to power 3 million homes. That’s a strong record.

Lastly, as part of the promises for quick fixes, politicians have turned the Keystone pipeline into some sort of panacea to high prices at the pump. The irony is that it was Congressional Republicans who stopped this project from going forward by inserting it into the December payroll tax cut legislation and trying to score political points, despite knowing that it could not be approved before their arbitrary deadline. Regardless, even if the pipeline had been approved, the oil from this pipeline does not start flowing immediately; first, the pipeline needs to be built.  In fact it would take the Keystone pipeline more than 45 years to carry the amount of oil we will save through the historic fuel economy standards established by President Obama.

That said, the January denial of the permit was not a judgment on the merits of the project. Dozens of pipelines have been built under this administration, and just this week TransCanada stated the company will move forward with a separate pipeline from Cushing, Oklahoma to the Gulf Coast. As the President stated in January, we support TransCanada’s interest in proceeding with the Cushing project, which will help address the bottleneck of oil in Cushing that has resulted in large part from increased domestic oil production. Moving oil from the Midwest to the state-of-the-art refineries on the Gulf Coast will not only modernize our infrastructure, but it will create jobs and encourage American energy production. We look forward to working with TransCanada to ensure that it is built in a safe, responsible and timely manner.  We’ll also take every step possible to expedite the necessary Federal permits.

Separately, TransCanada gave the State Department advance notice of its intention to submit a new application for the cross-border segment of the Keystone XL pipeline, from Canada to Steele City, Nebraska, once a route through Nebraska has been identified. By not allowing sufficient time for important review or the identification of a complete pipeline route, Republicans in the House forced a rejection of the company’s earlier application in January. And as we made clear, the President’s decision in January in no way prejudged future applications. We will ensure any project receives the important assessment it deserves, and will base a decision to provide a permit on the completion of that review.

Today, President Obama has invited a group of Americans who made their voices heard the last time Congress threatened to raise their taxes to the White House.

At the end of this month, if Congress doesn’t act, taxes are set to go up on 160 million hardworking Americans, and the President believes that lawmakers must prevent this middle class tax hike without drama or delay. 

For a family making about $50,000 a year, the payroll tax cut amounts to about $1,000 a year, or about $40 in every paycheck. In December, we asked America to tell us what losing $40 per paycheck would mean for their family, and the answers came from across the country — from students trying to stretch the budget a little bit further. From moms who need to buy their children lunch every day in the school cafeteria. And from commuters who are filling up the tank and looking at rising gas prices. Using twitter, email and Facebook, they told us clearly that $40 can make all the difference in the world.  

Ultimately, thanks to these stories, Congress did the right thing and passed a two-month extension of the tax cut and unemployment insurance – but only after a drawn-out debate that put the strength of our economy and the security of middle class families at risk. Now that extension is about to expire.

The President is also inviting all Americans who oppose raising their taxes to share their own stories with the White House – you can submit them on WhiteHouse.gov, using the Twitter hashtag #40dollars or post them on our Google+ page or Facebook wall. You can watch the President’s remarks with these hardworking American families at 10:40 am ET on WhiteHouse.gov/live.

During the speech, the President called on Congress to pass a bill that makes clear that current insider trading laws apply to Members of Congress. No one should be able to trade stocks based on nonpublic information they learned on Capitol Hill. This is a no-brainer. 

I’d like to point out that Executive Branch employees are already covered by the insider trading prohibitions. That’s right -- there are laws on the books to prevent Executive Branch employees from trading stock based on information that is not public. In fact, the SEC and the Department of Justice have brought insider trading actions against employees of the Executive Branch based on this clear authority under the law. So, the Executive Branch is covered. It’s time to make it clear that Congress is subject to the same rules. 

Now, there are some folks out there who suggest the Administration is trying to impose a higher standard on Congress. That couldn’t be further from the truth. Not only do the insider trading laws already apply to the Executive Branch, but there are other laws on the books that prohibit Executive Branch employees from using their positions to benefit their own personal financial interest. These laws don’t apply to Congress.  

For instance, as a matter of criminal law, Executive Branch employees can’t work on matters that would affect their personal financial interest. There is no criminal conflict of interest law that likewise applies to Members of Congress. Additionally, Executive Branch employees must get rid of private assets that conflict with their official duties or be walled off from decisions that affect their private assets. Members of Congress can hang onto those assets and make decisions that could affect them. 

The Executive Branch employees are currently held to a higher standard. The STOCK Act simply brings Congress closer to that standard. So, we are pleased the Senate is one step closer to passing the STOCK Act.  We urge Congress to pass this bill, and President will sign it right away. 

The President nominated Mr. Cordray last summer.  Unfortunately, Republicans in the Senate blocked his confirmation.  They refused to let the Senate go forward with an up or down vote.  It’s not because Republicans think Cordray isn’t qualified for the job, they simply believe that the American public doesn’t need a watchdog at all.  Well, we disagree. 

And we can’t wait for Republicans in the Senate to act.  Now, you might hear some folks across the aisle criticize this “recess appointment.” It’s probably the same folks who don’t think we need a tough consumer watchdog in the first place.  Those critics might tell you that Wall Street should write their own rules.  Or you might hear them say the American people are better off when everyone is left to fend for themselves.  Again, we disagree with those critics.

Here are the facts:  The Constitution gives the President the authority to make temporary recess appointments to fill vacant positions when the Senate is in recess, a power all recent Presidents have exercised.  The Senate has effectively been in recess for weeks, and is expected to remain in recess for weeks.  In an overt attempt to prevent the President from exercising his authority during this period, Republican Senators insisted on using a gimmick called “pro forma” sessions, which are sessions during which no Senate business is conducted and instead one or two Senators simply gavel in and out of session in a matter of seconds.  But gimmicks do not override the President’s constitutional authority to make appointments to keep the government running.  Legal experts agree.  In fact, the lawyers who advised President Bush on recess appointments wrote that the Senate cannot use sham “pro forma” sessions to prevent the President from exercising a constitutional power. 

Because of the President’s leadership and decisive action, the American people will have a consumer watchdog fighting tooth and nail on their behalf.  The President knows this is a make or break moment for the middle class and he’ll continue to build an economy that’s based on the values of fairness and shared responsibility.  Today’s announcement is a critical piece to strengthen the economy and restore the economic security for the middle class and those trying to reach it.  Mr. Cordray is the right man for the job and we’re pleased he’s finally in place to continue his important work.

For more information, see:

• Consumer Financial Protection Bureau 101: Why We Need a Consumer Watchdog

In addition to blocking these job-creating measures, Republicans in Congress refused to compromise to tackle our nation’s serious deficit problem.  They chose to protect tax cuts for millionaires and billionaires at any cost, even if it means deep cuts to education, medical research and Medicare.  They will not budge from that negotiating position. 

And Thursday night, after weeks of saying “no” to just about everything, Republicans in Congress chose to allow taxes to increase on nearly 160 million hardworking Americans because they refused to ask a few hundred thousand millionaires and billionaires to pay their fair share.  They voted against a bill that would have not only extended the $1,000 tax cut for a typical family, but expanded that tax cut to put $1,500 in their pockets next year, and given nearly six million small business owners new incentives to expand and hire.  That’s not right.  It’s not acceptable.

Now, you’ll hear Republicans try to come up with a substantive objection to the payroll tax cut.  The fact is, we all know it’s a bad idea to raise taxes on 160 million working Americans.  Independent economists agree.  We can’t put our economy and the middle class at risk. We can’t play politics with the security of millions of American families and small business owners.   Republicans know this.  They’ve said so in past.  Those same Republicans who voted “no” last night have previously supported the payroll tax cut.  Let’s take a look:

Sen. Alexander

12/9/10: Sen. Alexander: “It Also Means That Your Employees Who Work There Will Get A One-Third Reduction In Their Payroll Tax Payments Every Two Weeks. And Maybe They’ll Spend Some More Money Creating More Jobs.”  ”QUESTION: And if you look at the proportions, though, of the top, top sector of earners in this country getting the bulk of the benefits, why does that help?

ALEXANDER: Well, if you’re a small business person in Tennessee, what this means is that you won’t be paying tens of thousands of dollars, perhaps more, in taxes and you can use that to create a job. It also means that your employees who work there will get a one-third reduction in their payroll tax payments every two weeks. And maybe they’ll spend some more money creating morejobs. So it’s a combination of policies that all together are focused on jobs.” [NPR, 12/9/10]

Sen. Kyl

11/20/09: Sen. Kyl: “…What You're Suggesting Here Is That You Can Do Some Things To Stimulate Job Creation And Certainly Something Like Reducing The Payroll Tax, Which Has Been Written About Recently, Would Accomplish That…”“MR. KUDLOW: All right. Let me go to a couple of other things. We had Senator Thune on last night about ending TARP, putting a stake in TARP by the end of the year. But Mr. Kyl, let me just ask you. Suppose you got $300 billion from ending TARP. Wouldn't it be better to give it back to the taxpayers in the form of lower tax rates? Wouldn't that be a terrific thing with 10.2 percent unemployment, kind of "we, the people," the government works for us, and they could use the extra cash right now and maybe some incentives on lower rates for payroll taxes?

SEN. KYL: Yeah. As a matter of fact, the original intent here was that when the money was paid back by the banks, you didn't create a revolving account there, you lowered the debt. That is to say, you simply retired that aspect of the debt. Remember, this is all borrowed money from the Chinese and elsewhere. So you can do one of two things with it. You can either retire the debt, or what you're suggesting here is that you can do some things to stimulate job creation and certainly something like reducing the payroll tax, which has been written about recently, would accomplish that. There are other ways you can do it as well.”  [CNBC, Kudlow Report, 11/20/09]

Sen. DeMint

11/29/11: “Republican Leaders Said Tuesday They Would Join Democrats In Supporting An Extension Of The 2011 Payroll-Tax Cut Despite Some Reluctance Within The GOP, Virtually Assuring That American Wage-Earners Will Continue To Receive The Benefit Next Year…..Mr. DeMint Said He Would Support The Extension Because ‘I Just Don't Think It's A Good Time To Increase Any Taxes.’”  “Republican leaders said Tuesday they would join Democrats in supporting an extension of the 2011 payroll-tax cut despite some reluctance within the GOP, virtually assuring that American wage-earners will continue to receive the benefit next year. Republicans still oppose Democrats' plan to pay for the tax break with a tax on people earning more than $1 million a year. GOP leaders said they would find another way to pay for the tax break and predicted it would pass. ‘I think at the end of the day, there's a lot of sentiment in our conference—clearly a majority sentiment—for continuing the payroll-tax relief that we enacted a year ago in these tough times,’ Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.) said. Republicans and some economists have questioned the value of the payroll-tax break, saying its economic impact is limited by its temporary nature and the fact that some people use the spare cash to pay down debt, rather than buy things. Some argue Congress should revamp the whole tax code rather than temporarily reducing individual taxes. ‘I think it's a mistake to do this little tax and that little tax,’ said Sen. Jim DeMint (R., S.C.). ‘We need to reform our tax code if we're going to be competitive internationally.’ Nonetheless, Mr. DeMint said he would support the extension because ‘I just don't think it's a good time to increase any taxes.’” [Wall Street Journal, 11/30/11]

Sen. Kirk

9/10/11: AP: “Kirk Said Obama's Proposals To Cut The Payroll Tax…Should Receive Quick, Bipartisan Action.” “Republican Sen. Mark Kirk said Obama's proposals to cut the payroll tax and approve trade agreements with South Korea, Colombia and Panama should receive quick, bipartisan action.” [AP, 9/10/11]

Sen. Blunt

7/8/10: Pulaski County Daily: “Blunt Agreed That A Payroll Tax Holiday, A 100 Percent Depreciation Of Capital Expenses, And Other Ideas Could Have Worked To Stimulate The Economy…”  “Blunt agreed that a payroll tax holiday, a 100 percent depreciation of capital expenses, and other ideas could have worked to stimulate the economy, but said the $800 billion federal spending plan happened in 2009 because President Barack Obama has a fundamentally different view of how to help the economy than most Republicans and many rural Americans.” [Pulaski County Daily, 7/8/10]

Sen. Johanns

11/30/11: New York Times: “Another Republican Senator Has Opened The Door To Tax Increases On High Earners As A Way To Pay For A Payroll Tax Cut, Showing More Movement In The Party Ranks After Resistance All Year To Tax Increases. ‘I Sense A Change In Mood,’ Senator Mike Johanns, Republican Of Nebraska, Said Wednesday.  ‘It’s A Little More Bipartisan. My Position Has Always Been, ‘Let’s Not Raise Taxes,’ But On The Other Hand, I Don’t Want Our Country To Collapses Under A Mountain Of Debt. If That Means Compromise, I Am Going To Do Everything To Get That Done.’” “Another Republican senator has opened the door to tax increases on high earners as a way to pay for a payroll tax cut, showing more movement in the party ranks after resistance all year to tax increases. ‘I sense a change in mood,’ Senator Mike Johanns, Republican of Nebraska, said Wednesday. ‘It’s a little more bipartisan. My position has always been, ‘Let’s not raise taxes,’ but on the other hand, I don’t want our country to collapses under a mountain of debt. If that means compromise, I am going to do everything to get that done.’…Democrats are seeking to reduce the Social Security payroll tax paid by employees by half, to 3.1. percent of wages, a position many Republicans support.” [New York Times, 11/30/11]

2009 Republican Stimulus Proposal Included a Payroll Tax Cut

2/5/09: 40 Republican Senators Voted For The Republican Substitute Stimulus Which Included A Payroll Tax Cut.  On February 2, 2009, 40 Republican senators voted for a McCain motion to consider an alternative Republican stimulus bill that “would have cut income and payroll taxes….” according to the Associated Press.  The motion was rejected 40-57. [Senate Roll Call Vote #45, 2/5/09; AP, 2/5/09]

• 18 Republican Senators Voted Against Both Payroll Tax Cut Extension Bills On December 2, 2011 But Voted For A Payroll Tax Cut On February 5, 2009: Alexander, Burr, Chambliss, Coburn, Cochran, Corker, Cornyn, DeMint, Graham, Hatch, Inhofe, Isakson, Johanns, Kyl, Roberts, Sessions, Shelby, And Thune.  [Senate Roll Call Vote #45, 2/5/09; Senate Roll Call Vote #219, 12/1/11; Senate Roll Call Vote #220, 12/1/11]
• 10/15/09: Sen. McCain: “Mr. President, Earlier This Year I Put Forward A Proposal To Eliminate The 3.1 Percent Payroll Tax For One Year For All Employees In Order To Put More Money In Every Working American’s Pocket During These Difficult Economic Times.  This Would Have Been A Real Stimulus To Our Economy.” “‘Mr. President, earlier this year I put forward a proposal to eliminate the 3.1 percent payroll tax for one year for all employees in order to put more money in every working American’s pocket during these difficult economic times.  This would have been a real stimulus to our economy.  Unfortunately, every Democrat in this chamber voted against this common sense proposal. ‘The regressive payroll tax oppresses all Americans, especially young men and women, and burdens small businesses that must match the tax that their employees pay.  About 41 percent of Americans have no income tax liability.  But every wage-earner is hit by the payroll tax no matter how much or how little one earns.  For 86 percent of all working Americans, the payroll tax they pay is more than their income tax liability.” [Sen. John McCain – Floor Statement, 10/15/09– video available via C-SPAN]
• 3/26/09: Sen. McCain: “Our Proposal Would Have . . . Put Money Immediately Back Into The Hands Of All Americans Through A Payroll Tax Holiday.” “Our proposal would have helped fix the housing crisis, invested in our nation’s infrastructure through effective and restrained spending, put money immediately back into the hands of all Americans through a payroll tax holiday, and allowed businesses to keep more of their profits to hire new employees, invest in capital and expand their businesses.” [Sen. John McCain – Remarks to the Heritage Foundation, 3/26/09] 

This debate is not about how much we spend; it’s about what your taxpayer dollars are spent on. In August, Congress and the President agreed on overall package that puts what is called discretionary spending on a path to its lowest level as a share of the economy since the Eisenhower Administration. Some wanted to cut less, some more, but that was the deal. The debate now is about how Congress allocates your tax dollars, and if Congress chooses to use funding bills to make policy in areas that have nothing to do with dollars and cents.

The President supports a balanced approach that cuts waste where we can so that we are able to invest in areas critical for job creation in the short term and winning the future over the long term. He believes that responsibility should be broadly shared, and that we should not burden the most vulnerable Americans, while rewarding millionaires, billionaires, and large corporations.

Unfortunately, some Republicans in Congress want a different approach. Some want to break the deal we shook hands on in August and make deeper cuts, forcing a third of the budget to bear the whole burden of deficit reduction. Others want to ignore a critical provision designed to ensure victims of natural disasters, like Hurricane Irene, get the help they need. Some want to slash funding for programs critical to the middle class and our economic future such as President Obama’s Race to the Top education reform initiative, health reform, environmental protection, and critical research and development in clean energy and advanced manufacturing. They want to deny funding and use other provisions to stop Wall Street reform which will make sure that taxpayers are never again on the hook for Wall Street’s failures, hold Wall Street accountable, and protect consumers.

Republicans are also once again trying to use the budget process to enact a right-wing, ideological agenda by tacking on more than 100 provisions that have nothing to do with funding (called “riders”). For instance:

• Even though under current law no Federal funds are permitted to support abortion at family planning clinics, the House Republicans have included a rider that would eliminate funding for Title X Family Planning programs, thus limiting women's access to healthcare services.
• Another rider would effectively eliminate funding to Planned Parenthood, a critical provider of women’s health care services around the country.
• A number of provisions would effectively halt or prevent the implementation of the Affordable Care Act or Wall Street Reform.
• One provision blocks federal effort to protect lands around the majestic Grand Canyon from mining activities. 
• Another provision would prohibit the use of funds for Consumer Product Safety Commission's public product safety database, SaferProducts.gov which enables consumers to learn which products are hazardous to them and their families.
• More than a dozen riders would roll back years of bipartisan progress on protecting the public’s health through clean air and clean water laws.

When the Republicans tried to pass these measures in April, the President held firm – and Congress took the country within hours of a government shutdown before agreeing to a reasonable, middle path. The date may have changed, but the President’s priorities have not – nor has his commitment to stop attempts to shortchange our future and pass extreme, ideological riders. Congress needs to do the work it was sent here to do to pass a balanced bill and prevent an avoidable crisis. The President is eager to sign something that solves this problem quickly, but he is prepared to veto anything that includes extreme ideological measures or cuts that undermine our growth. 

If congressional Republicans want to avoid a veto and are serious about avoiding a costly government shutdown and preventing the uncertainty that a shutdown would bring to our markets and our economy, they will stop attempting to re-litigate the August agreement and abandon ideological stunts. With only weeks before Congress plans to head home and several critical deadlines looming for programs that matter to Americans, we hope Republicans in Congress choose to transcend party differences and pass funding legislation that is right for the country and that the President can sign.

Unfortunately, even as the President is doing all he can through his executive powers in the "We Can't Wait" campaign, the American Jobs Act is being blocked by Republicans in the Senate who have voted in unison against these common sense, broadly supported proposals, and Republicans in the House refuse to even give the bill a vote.  Senate Republicans have offered their own alternative as an excuse to oppose the President's plan, but a look at them side by side leads to only one conclusion: one is truly a jobs plan, and one is not.

View Full Size

While in Vegas, he’ll highlight a set of steps announced by the FHFA to make it easier for some homeowners to refinance their mortgages.  This will help responsible borrowers with little or no equity in their homes take advantage of today’s low mortgage rates. 

Later this week, the Administration will announce measures to help students better manage their student loan debt when they graduate. 

These announcements will build on our ongoing effort to take action and help middle class families. For example, we decided to stop waiting for Congress to fix No Child Left Behind, and decided to give states the flexibility they need to help our children meet higher standards.  And the President acted to dramatically reduce the time it takes for small businesses to get paid when they have a contract with the federal government, and eliminated regulations that will save hospitals and patients billions of dollars. 

These steps aren’t a substitute for the bold action we need to create jobs and grow the economy, but they’ll make a difference.  The fact is, our problems are too serious to simply do nothing.  The stakes are too high.  The issues facing Americans require serious bipartisan solutions, yet the Republicans in Congress have decided to put party before country and block legislation that would create jobs and grow the economy.  They blocked the Americans Jobs Act, a bill that independent experts said could create up to 2 million jobs.  And again, just last week, Senate Republicans obstructed a piece of the American Jobs Act that would keep hundreds of thousands of firefighters on the job, police officers on the streets, and teachers in the classroom when our kids need them most.

While President Obama continues to take executive actions, Republicans in Congress will have the opportunity to do what’s right for the country.  They’ll have a chance to vote on another piece of the Americans Jobs Act.  It’s a bill that will make an immediate investment of $50 billion in our nation’s surface transportation infrastructure and a $10 billion investment to create a bipartisan National Infrastructure bank.  Together, these initiatives will put hundreds of thousands of construction workers back on the job rebuilding our roads, rails, and runways.

We’ll continue to do our job.  Over the weeks and months ahead, we’ll continue to take actions that will improve the economy and help middle class families.  Now, it’s time for Republicans in Congress to do theirs. It’s time to put country before party and do what’s right for the American people.

They blocked a piece of legislation filled with ideas that they have supported in the past that would keep teachers in the classroom, police officers on the beat, and put construction workers back on the job rebuilding our roads and bridges. The next step now is for Congress to take up each individual piece of the American Jobs Act. Will they oppose each of these common-sense measures that will get the American people back to work and put money in the pockets of middle class families?

Take a look at the front page of the Cincinnati Enquirer. With so many Americans out of work and so many families struggling, we can’t take “no” for an answer. It’s time for Congress to meet their responsibility, put their party politics aside and take action on jobs right now.

But don’t take our word for it.   Prominent, independent experts have confirmed that the American Jobs Act will materially improve economic growth and employment next year. For example, Moody’s Mark Zandi released a report stating that “The plan would add 2 percentage points to GDP growth next year, add 1.9 million jobs, and cut the unemployment rate by a percentage point.”  Macroeconomic Advisers estimated that it would increase growth by 1.3%, and result in 1.3 million more jobs in 2012. The President has proposed a plan.  It’s been assessed and reviewed by independent experts. 

But what do those same independent experts say about the Republican’s plan?  According to an article in the New York Times this morning, Macroeconomic Advisers chairman Joel Prakken said their plan “would have little immediate effect relative to a plan that stimulates aggregate demand.”  Moody’s Mark Zandi said the Republicans' ideas “won’t mean much for the economy and job market in the next year,” even as he said “it is vital for Congress and the administration to provide some near-term support to the economy.”

The Republican plan won’t create jobs in the short term.  The American Jobs Act is made up of the kind of ideas that both Republicans and Democrats have supported in the past. There’s simply no excuse for them sitting on the sidelines while teachers are being laid off in droves and construction workers are out of a job.  It’s time for Republicans to stop playing politics and pass this bill. 

This comment reflects exactly the sort of counterproductive defeatism that Energy Secretary Steven Chu warned against this weekend when he spoke to a group of America’s most promising young solar innovators: 

“The United States faces a choice today: Will we sit on the sidelines and fall behind or will we play to win the clean energy race? Some say this is a race America can’t win.  They’re ready to wave the white flag and declare defeat… Others say this is a race America shouldn’t even be in. They say we can’t afford to invest in clean energy.  I say we can’t afford not to. 

“It’s not enough for our country to invent clean energy technologies – we have to make them and use them too. Invented in America, made in America, and sold around the world – that’s how we’ll create good jobs and lead in the 21^st century.”  

The race for clean energy jobs and industries is on – and it is a race well worth winning. The International Energy Agency projects that in the coming decades, solar power could grow to more than 20 percent of the world’s electricity. Conservatively, this means that there is an economic opportunity worth trillions of dollars for whichever countries claim the lead. The global market for wind turbines is also growing exponentially. 

But it’s not just the vast potential of jobs tomorrow – these industries employ a growing number of Americans today. In fact, business groups estimate that America’s solar industry accounts for about 100,000 jobs and the wind industry employs 75,000. Should we simply tell those workers that we’ve given up on them?  

A study released last month showed that, in spite of the intense global competition, the U.S. remains a net global exporter of solar technology – with $5.6 billion in exports and an overall positive trade balance of $1.8 billion.  

It is certainly true that China is playing to win. Last year alone, China offered its solar manufacturers $30 billion in government financing, vastly exceeding the U.S. investment.  And China has overtaken the United States market share in solar power – a technology we invented.  

Chairman Stearns and other members of his party in Congress believe that America cannot, or should not, try to compete for jobs in a cutting edge and rapidly growing industry.  We simply disagree:  the answer to this challenge is not to wave the white flag and give up on American workers. America has never declared defeat after a single setback – and we shouldn’t start now.  

America’s entrepreneurs and innovators are still the very best in the world. Our workers are second to none – and we have never been afraid of a challenge. It’s time to do what we’ve always done in the face of a tough competitor: roll up our sleeves and recapture the lead.

Yesterday in an interview with Senior Adviser David Plouffe on Fox News Sunday, host Chris Wallace used misleading statistics to argue against the President’s efforts to level the playing field for middle class Americans by requiring that the wealthiest pay their fair share.  In an effort to falsely assert that the President’s plan would place an unfair tax burden on the wealthiest Americans, Wallace said that, “1 percent of households with the highest incomes pay 38 percent of federal income taxes. The top 10 percent pay 70 percent of federal income taxes. Meanwhile, 46 percent of households pay no federal income tax at all.”  

These statistics are misleading and don’t tell the whole story. They leave out payroll taxes that every worker pays to make sure they will have Social Security and Medicare when they retire, which fall disproportionately on the middle class. And they don’t mention that the share of the nation’s income going to the highest earners grew rapidly in the past two decades – at the same time tax rates fell for the highest earners.

In fact, because of growing income inequality, the top 10 percent of American earners now earns 42 percent of the nation’s income, and when correctly calculated, pay about 50 percent of the federal income and payroll tax burden - not much larger than their share of earnings.

As we continue to have a robust discussion about the President’s plans across our country, it’s important to understand exactly how they will affect Americans – from the middle class to the highest earners.

We already took on several tax myths here (see “Buffett Rule Facts and Fictions,” by NEC Director Gene Sperling) but given that more misleading information continues to make the rounds, it is important to set the record straight.

Here are facts:

Claim: The top 10 percent wealthiest Americans pay 70 percent of federal income taxes.

Fact: This statistic presents a deeply misleading picture of the actual federal tax burden because (1) it fails to include payroll taxes, which every worker pays, and which fall disproportionately on the middle class, and (2) because it doesn’t reflect that high-income Americans earn a disproportionate share of income.     

• Payroll taxes account for 34 percent of federal revenues. They only apply to income earned on the job – not income from capital gains on investments, which make up a much greater share of the income of the top 10 percent. And payroll taxes for Social Security are capped at $106,800.
• For both of these reasons, wealthier Americans face a disproportionately lower burden from payroll taxes.   According to the independent, non-partisan Congressional Budget Office, the wealthiest 10 percent only pay 25 percent of all payroll taxes.
• Counting both payroll and income taxes, the top 10 percent only pay about 50 percent of that tax burden – not much larger than their share of our nation’s income (around 42 percent).
• The top 10 percent (households earning an average of nearly $400,000) has been earning a larger and larger share of our nation’s income. Twenty years ago, they accounted for 34 percent of our nation’s income. In the past twenty years – as tax rates have fallen for the highest earners – the income share of the top 10 percent has grown to 42 percent of our nation’s earnings.
• This aggregate figure also masks the fact that certain high-income Americans pay far less than others—and less than the middle class.  That’s what the Buffett Rule is meant to address.

Claim: The 1 percent of households with the highest incomes pay 38 percent of federal income taxes.

Fact: This statistic again ignores the payroll taxes that every working American pays, and the fact that incomes of the top 1 percent have increased rapidly in recent years.

• As with calculations about the tax burden of the top 10 percent, this claim ignores payroll taxes that every American worker pays, but fall much less on the highest earners.
• In fact, the top 1 percent of all Americans only pay 4.1 percent of the nation’s payroll taxes. Overall, they pay about one-quarter of federal income and payroll taxes.
• While this may seem like a high share, consider that over the past twenty years, the portion of our nation’s income going to the top 1 percent (households earning an average of nearly $2 million) has nearly doubled – from 11 percent in 1987 to 19 percent in 2007 (the latest year for which the CBO publishes tax burden data).
• While the top 1 percent pays about one-quarter of our federal income and payroll tax, they also earn 19 percent of our nation’s income. 

Claim: 46 percent of households pay no federal income tax at all.

Fact: Around 82 percent of Americans pay income or payroll taxes, and those who don’t are mostly elderly people.

• Ignoring payroll taxes presents a particularly misleading picture for middle income taxpayers.
• In fact, according to the independent, non-partisan Tax Policy Center, around 82 percent of Americans pay income or payroll taxes.
• As confirmed last week in a “Reality Check” article by the Washington Post, of the remaining 18 percent, 10 percent are elderly people who generally don’t earn salaries or wages, and 7 percent are people with incomes under $20,000 per year. As the article explains, of the people who pay no federal income or payroll taxes, “most are low-income workers or elderly living only on Social Security.”

Claim: The average taxes paid by millionaires is high enough to make the Buffett Rule unnecessary.

Fact: This is misguided on several grounds. 

Millionaires faced an average income tax rate of about 24 percent as of 2009 according to IRS data (and payroll taxes should add very little to that—in the range of 1 to 1.5 percentage points). 

However, the Buffett Rule is not about all taxpayers or even the average taxpayer making over $1 million. Instead, it is about those who are able to pay lower taxes than middle-class families.

Take IRS data on the taxes paid by the 400 highest-income households in 2008, all making over $110 million per year and making an average of $271 million per year. Some of those 400 taxpayers do pay their fair share, but according to that data, one-third of this group pays less than 15 percent of their income in taxes and 85 percent pays less than 30 percent.  

Indeed, a full 22,000 households making more than $1 million annually paid less than 15 percent of their income in taxes in 2009, according to  analysis of the IRS 2009 Statistics of Income file by the Treasury Department’s Office of Tax Analysis. And 165,000 households making over $1 million paid less than 30 percent of their income in taxes. 

Second, even looking at averages provides strong evidence of how unfair our tax code has become. That same IRS data shows that the average income tax rate for the most well off 400 earners was only 18.1 percent in 2008 and 16.6 percent in 2007. (This does not count the impact of the payroll tax, which is trivial for these taxpayers since only a tiny fraction of their income is subject to the payroll tax).  These exceptionally low effective tax rates paid by the most well-off do violate the Buffett Rule because they are lower, and at times significantly so, than the amount some middle-class families may pay in income and payroll taxes.  For example:  

• A single, self-employed business owner earns $70,000.  In income and payroll taxes, this middle class business owner pays about 28 percent of income in taxes. That’s 50 percent higher rate than the average tax rate on the top 400.  
• And, at the margin, a middle-class family can pay 15 percent, 25 percent or 28 percent of what they earn in income taxes — plus additional payroll taxes on top of that. That’s far higher than the less than 15 percent of income in federal taxes that some of the most well-off Americans pay. Does it seem right that an American who makes over $110 million pays an effective tax rate of about 18 percent, but if they had a fire at their house, those who would be risking their lives to put the fire out, could be seeing far more taken out of their every additional dollar earned while they are risking their lives?  
• For example, a nurse makes an average wage for her occupation of $68,000 and has one child. When she chooses to work overtime, her additional earnings are taxed at 25 percent by the income tax. And payroll taxes add even more.

Claim: This is a new tax rate on millionaires. 

Fact: This is not a new tax rate on millionaires; instead the rule should be incorporated as part of fundamental tax reform that lowers overall rates. Currently, the highest-income Americans pay far less than the top marginal tax rate. Therefore, reform that meets the Buffett Rule should focus on limiting the degree to which the most well-off can take advantage of tax expenditures and preferences. 

Dan Pfeiffer is White House Communications Director

Today, we’ve seen reports from economic analysts and statements from CEOs.  All of their statements underscore the same message: the American Jobs Act will create jobs and is good for the American people.  It will grow the economy, help middle class families and strengthen communities across the nation.  

Here’s a quick rundown from the experts:

Moody’s Analytics Chief Economist Mark Zandi: “The fiscal boost from the jobs package next year would be larger than in the first year of the 2009 economic stimulus, said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics Inc. Zandi, who was briefed on the plan before the president’s speech, forecast passage of the entire jobs package would add 2 percentage points to economic growth next year and bring down the unemployment rate by 1 percentage point compared with current policy, under which a temporary payroll tax cut and an extended unemployment benefits both expire Dec. 31.”

This morning Economic Forecasting FirmMacroeconomic Advisers issued a report: “We estimate that the American Jobs Act (AJA), if enacted, would give a significant boost to GDP and employment over the near-term. The various tax cuts aimed at raising workers’ after-tax income and encouraging hiring and investing, combined with the spending increases aimed at maintaining state & local employment and funding infrastructure modernization, would: Boost the level of GDP by 1.3% by the end of 2012, and by 0.2% by the end of 2013. Raise nonfarm establishment employment by 1.3 million by the end of 2012 and 0.8 million by the end of 2013, relative to the baseline.” 

On CNN last night, Pimco CEO Bill Gross said, “Well, I think it's significant, Piers. I mean, it's $450 billion in terms of a proposal. That is 3% of GDP. If it's passed, you know, it could lead to hundreds of thousands of jobs.”

In a statement last night, Citigroup Chairman Richard Parsons said, “The President's proposed combination of personal and business tax relief, targeted spending to support infrastructure, and aid to states offers several direct and innovative ways of creating jobs and bolstering our economy. The President's focus on assisting small business is spot on, since small business is the engine of job creation.”

The President will continue to make his case directly to the American people about the importance of passing the American Jobs Act. He discussed his strategy to rebuild the economy at University of Richmond this afternoon and he’ll travel to Ohio and North Carolina next week. 

This package will keep cops on the beat, first responders on the job, and teachers in the classroom.  This package will put folks back to work by rebuilding our roads and upgrading our schools.  Plain and simple, this package will create jobs and help rebuild the economy.  The time for obstruction and gridlock is over. Congress needs to put country ahead of politics, and pass the American Jobs Act.

Find out more about the American Jobs Act

First of all, we all know we’re going through a tough economic time.  Our problems are eminently solvable, and it’s going to take some real work and some tough decisions to get there.  So, there’s nothing wrong with our country, but there is something seriously wrong with the political games being played in Washington.  If we want to get this economy moving again, we must stop the kind of political brinksmanship that we saw in the House during the debt ceiling debate and get to work.

We need to get our fiscal house in order and take a balanced, long-term approach to deficit reduction.  That’s not just the President’s belief.  It’s a bipartisan position over on Capitol Hill and a belief held by millions of Americans across the nation.   In fact, Speaker Boehner was close to striking a balanced deal that raised significant revenues by closing loopholes and asking the wealthiest to pay a little more with the President – a deal that would have taken a balanced approach to reducing the deficit while investing in areas that will help the economy grow– but he decided to walk away from the table.  We actually heard members of the Republican Party rooting for the United States to go into default and send shockwaves through our financial system.  That’s not the kind of leadership the American people expect, and that’s not the type of leadership they deserve. 

We need a commonsense approach to reduce the deficit and create jobs.  We can’t reduce the deficit on the backs of those who can least afford it and continue to give tax breaks to millionaires and billionaires, corporate jet owners and hedge fund managers, as much as Speaker Boehner and Rep. Cantor would like to. It just doesn’t make sense.  We know, they know it, and experts like Warren Buffett have said it.

In their piece they also applauded their own efforts on “Cut, Cap, and Balance” plan.  It wasn’t the answer the American people were looking for.  It would have crippled economic growth, devastated Medicare and Social Security, and placed the burden on older Americans and the most vulnerable.  That’s not acceptable and not the type of leadership we need to address our long term fiscal challenges.

The House leaders also said they support developing new sources of energy.  The facts here are simple: developing new sources of energy requires investments in clean energy.  The problem is, they supported the Ryan Plan that would cut clean energy investments by 70 percent.  That’s not exactly a job-creating approach. This administration made the largest clean energy investment in history - $90 billion in the Recovery Act, creating jobs and supporting cutting-edge industries. At the same time we’ve also taken steps to increase our domestic oil and gas production. This spring the President announced additional steps to expand safe and responsible production here are at home – directing the Department of the Interior to hold lease sales in the National Petroleum Reserve, while also extending certain leases in the Gulf of Mexico and Alaska. Lastly, in the wake of the largest oil spill in U.S. history, this administration took unprecedented steps to increase safety while working to continue development of our important resources.

Let me also talk about tax cuts.  This isn’t hard to explain: the President has signed more than 40 tax cuts into law.  The Republicans have voted against 16 tax cuts for small businesseseven as they protected millionaires and billionaires, hedge fund managers and friends flying around in corporate jets.

Here’s where we stand.  We’re going through a tough time and we need to jumpstart the economy.  The President has been pushing for measures including an extension of the payroll tax cut, extending unemployment benefits, a road construction bill, free trade agreements and a patent reform bill. 

In addition to these measures, we need a jobs package with new ideas and new initiatives that will immediately impact the economy and create jobs.  The President will lay out this package in September.  We also need to reduce our deficit in a balanced way, so the President will also present to the Congress a detailed deficit reduction package that goes beyond the $1.5 trillion mandate of the committee– to not only fully cover the cost of the jobs package but to achieve additional balanced deficit reduction as well.

We hope Congress will come back from recess willing to compromise, put country before party, and get to work on behalf of the American people.

Dan Pfeiffer is White House Communications Director