Weekly
Address: It’s Time for Congress to Help the Middle Class
August 2, 2014
Hi, everybody. My top priority as President is doing
everything I can to create more jobs and more opportunities for hardworking
families to get ahead.
On Friday, we learned that our
economy created over 200,000 new jobs in July.
That’s on top of about 300,000 new jobs in June. We’re now in a six-month streak with at least
200,000 new jobs each month. That hasn’t
happened since 1997. All told, our
businesses have created 9.9 million jobs over the past 53 months. That’s the longest streak of private-sector
job creation in our history.
Because of you – because of your
hard work and determination – America has recovered faster and come farther
than almost any other advanced country on Earth. The economy is clearly getting stronger. Things are clearly getting better. And the decisions we make now can keep things
moving in that direction.
That’s what’s at stake right
now. Making sure our economy works for
every working American. Making sure that
people who work hard can get ahead. That’s
why I’ve been pushing for common-sense ideas like rebuilding our infrastructure
in a way that supports millions of good jobs and helps our businesses
compete. Raising the minimum wage. Making it easier for working folks to pay off
their student loans. That’s why I’ve
been pushing for fair pay and paid leave.
These policies have two things in
common. All of them would help working
families feel more stable and secure.
And all of them have been blocked or ignored by Republicans in Congress.
That’s why my administration
keeps taking what actions we can on our own to help working families – because
Congress is doing so little for working families. House Republicans actually got together this
week and voted to sue me for taking actions on my own. And then they left town for the month without
settling a bunch of unfinished business that matters to working families across
America.
The bottom line is this – we’ve
come a long way these past five and a half years. Our challenges are nowhere near as daunting
as they were back then. But imagine how
much farther along our economy would be – how much stronger our country would
be – if Congress would do its job.
I’ll never stop trying to work
with both parties to get things moving faster for the middle class. And I could use your help. If you see your Member of Congress around
home this month, tell him or her what’s on your mind. Ask them why they haven’t passed bills to
raise the minimum wage or help with student loans or enact fair pay for women.
And when they return from
vacation next month, instead of trying to pass partisan bills on party lines,
hopefully we can come together with the sense of common purpose that you
expect. And in the meantime, I will
never stop doing whatever I can, whenever I can, not only to make sure that our
economy succeeds, but that people like you succeed.
Thanks, and have a great weekend. |
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