Peter Roskam has lately been complaining loudly to anyone who will listen about the high unemployment rate in Illinois. Roskam is trying to discredit the President and Democrats in Congress because unemployment exceeded the 8% peak projected earlier in President Obama’s term. Roskam pays lip service to the need for job growth:
“November’s continued job losses only further confirms that our economy is in serious peril, and we need to set aside partisanship and employ pro-growth policies that will create jobs.”
But when it comes time to actually vote on a jobs creation measure, partisanship wins out and Roskam votes against it.
That was what happened this past Wednesday, when the House voted on the Jobs for Main Street Act of 2010, as an amendment to H.R. 2847: Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2010. Peter Roskam voted no, along with all of his obstructionist Republican colleagues.
According to Speaker Pelosi, the bill would redirect $75 billion in TARP funds to pay for highways, transit and other infrastructure; to hire or retain teachers, police and firefighters; and to subsidize loans to small businesses.
The bill also extends unemployment benefits, COBRA subsidies, and Medicaid payments for people hard hit by the recession.
While Roskam loves to talk about unemployment in order to smear the President, and in order to work against legislation that his corporate sponsors oppose such as health care reform, financial regulation, and climate change legislation, Roskam demonstrates no empathy for those who have suffered job losses due to the Bush recession. You will recall that Roskam voted against unemployment benefits extension once before, back in September.
