Getting the American People the Security and Opportunity that they Deserve

Posted by Kori Schulman on July 08, 2011 at 02:46 PM EDT

"What matters most to Americans, and what matters most to me as President, in the wake of the worst downturn in our lifetimes, is getting our economy on a sounder footing more broadly so the American people can have the security they deserve," President Obama said this morning in remarks on the latest jobs numbers.  

Watch the video below, read the full remarks and read the blog post by Austan Goolsbee, Chairman of Council of Economic Advisers.

Download Video: mp4 (68MB) | mp3 (7MB)

The President will not be satisfied until every American who wants work can find a job. As he outlined, there are some things that Congress can, and should, do right now on behalf of the American people, including:

• Extend the payroll tax cut. There are a lot of middle-class families who could use the security of knowing that the tax cut the President signed in December will be around for another year. 
• Pass a bipartisan infrastructure bill. There are over a million construction workers out of work after the housing boom went bust, just as a lot of America needs rebuilding. The two can be connected by helping private companies rebuild our roads and bridges and railways. 
• Pass the patent reform bill to give our entrepreneurs the chance to get their job-creating ideas to market faster by streamlining the patent process. 
• Pass the trade agreements that will help businesses sell more American-made goods and services to Asia and South America, supporting thousands of jobs here at home. 

President Barack Obama remarks on the monthly jobs report during a statement in the Rose Garden of the White House, July 8, 2011. (Official White House Photo by Samantha Appleton)

Accelerating job growth remains the President’s priority. Here are examples of the work this Administration is doing to put Americans back to work and spur private sector investment:

• Extending tax cuts for the middle class to put more money in the pockets of American families.
• Cutting payroll taxes resulting in an additional $1000 in the pockets of families making 50k/year – which is providing a boost to families’ pocketbooks even with higher gas prices.
• Creating new incentives to get our small businesses hiring, including 17 tax cuts for small businesses and measures to boost lending to small businesses – including enhancements to spur SBA loans and new programs to help community banks increase their lending to entrepreneurs  
• Creating clean energy jobs by providing tax cuts for producing renewable energy and proposing an expanded, permanent R&D tax credit and improved tax credits for electric vehicles. These initiatives will help create the jobs of the future, while improving our energy security.
• Increasing exports by supporting trade agreements with South Korea, Panama and Columbia that will help support tens of thousands of jobs in the United States.
• Identifying regulations that are holding businesses back and need to be changed or removed because they are out-of-date, unnecessary, excessively burdensome, or in conflict with other rules.