Senior Dem calls on Obama to endorse bailout money for jobs

A senior Democrat said Congress is more likely to pass a job creation bill this year if President Barack Obama endorses using bailout money to pay for it.

Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), assistant to the Speaker and chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, said in an interview with The Hill on Friday that the House is "poised" to pass a jobs bill, but Obama's backing is needed to get it through the Senate and shore up support in the House.

Obama is scheduled to announce his plans for job creation in a speech on Tuesday, and the White House suggested Friday the president will support a jobs bill.

The nation’s unemployment rate dipped to 10 percent in November with only 11,000 jobs lost during that month, the Department of Labor reported on Friday.

Van Hollen said he doesn't know if Obama will endorse using money from the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), the formal name for the Wall Street bailout, to fund a bill that includes tax credits for small businesses and additional targeted infrastructure projects.

But administration officials appear more open to such a measure after feeling pressure from Congress and seeing positive economic indicators, he said.

"They've warmed, they've come a long way to our view that we need an additional boost," the congressman said.

Republicans are opposed, saying TARP funds should be used to pay down the national deficit.

Van Hollen said the GOP criticism has been "undermined" by positive economic indicators, such as last Friday's unexpected drop in the national unemployment rate.

But the congressman said he is still unsure where the White House is on some of the new initiatives, saying that talk between the White House and Capitol Hill are still "in flux."

"If he endorses that approach, I think we can definitely get it out," Van Hollen said.

White House press secretary Robert Gibbs told reporters in his West Wing office Friday morning that the idea of using TARP money to pay for a jobs bill "is certainly being looked at.”

“The president believes that he has seen and heard good ideas from his economic team, from discussions yesterday and I think he’ll outline some of what he supports moving forward on Tuesday," Gibbs said. "I don’t think it will be the totality of all of what we’re looking at, but I think the president believes that we should and must do everything in our power to create an environment for job growth and job creation.”

Gibbs and other Democrats have repeatedly rejected calling the jobs bill another stimulus.

"Is there going to be another $787 billion plan? The answer is no," Gibbs said.

Van Hollen said last week's positive economic news has provided Obama and Democrats with the momentum they need to pass another jobs measure.

"It shows the president's plans have been working," Van Hollen said. "This news provides him a good foundation to move forward."

Van Hollen pointed to last week's Congressional Budget Office (CBO) score that shows more than 1 million jobs created or saved by the stimulus package and the drop in unemployment as two reasons the White House has confidence that another attempt to create jobs is palatable.

"It reinforces his credibility and credibility for the actions Congress has taken to date," Van Hollen said.

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