A jobs bill winding its way through Congress is giving Tennessee lawmakers a tough choice: create jobs or reduce the deficit. Matt Laslo reports from Washington.
As the national debt hit $13 trillion dollars on Wednesday, Democratic leaders realized in order for a jobs bill to pass they had to trim it by about $50 billion.
The bill extends unemployment benefits and provides tax credits for businesses which could help in Tennessee where the unemployment rate is still sitting above 10 percent.
But fiscal conservatives can’t stomach the one $145 billion price tag. Nashville Democrat Jim Cooper says he opposes the bill because it would increase the deficit by about $80 billion dollars.
“There’s some worthwhile elements but they need to be paid for. Congress has passed a pay as you go rule – a statute – we should live up to that.”
In the wake of the BP disaster the legislation also includes a provision to raise more money from oil companies. Under the bill energy companies would have to pay the government twenty six cents more for each barrel of oil they produce.
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