Dem bill aims to save state, local workers

A top House Democrat introduced legislation Friday designed to help state and local governments retain and rehire workers amid the country's lingering jobs crisis.

Sponsored by Rep. George Miller (Calif.), senior Democrat on the House Education and Workforce Committee, the proposal would pump billions of dollars into local communities in order to stanch the hemorrhaging of government jobs that's been the trend throughout the year.

The proposal has a tough road ahead, as the Republican majority in the House is opposed to new stimulus spending as a solution to the jobs crisis. Indeed, Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) suggested earlier this year that shedding government jobs is necessary to rein in deficits and improve the economy. 

Miller, like most Democrats, thinks differently — he's arguing that not only are local government workers vital for providing valuable community services, but keeping them employed will be essential if the country hopes to nibble away at an unemployment rate hovering stubbornly above 9 percent.

"Job losses in communities across the country are a threat to our economic stability," Miller said Friday in a statement. "Communities are being forced to choose between raising taxes to continue their vital services or letting go of vital employees.

"Families, similarly, are experiencing these dangerous cuts in the form of fewer teachers and fewer police officers," he added.

Employment figures reveal the impetus behind Miller's strategy. Although the private sector has seen positive job growth for the past 17 months, the overall numbers have been hampered by public-sector layoffs. Indeed, governments have shed 547,000 jobs since July 2010, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. States have cut 90,000 employees over that span, the bureau says, while local governments have shed an additional 250,000.

Since August 2008, local governments have let go more than 400,000 workers.

Miller's proposal provides roughly $37.5 billion for local governments, and an additional $24 billion for states to pay teachers, policemen and firefighters. The funds, to be allocated over a two-year span, are designed to preclude future layoffs — or even allow the rehiring of fired workers — as governments grapple with budget troubles in the down economy.

"Families shouldn’t have to worry about their children losing a year of learning or about their safety being compromised, on top of everything else they’re dealing with in this economy," Miller said.

The debate highlights the chasm separating Democrats and Republicans when it comes to Congress's role in creating jobs.

Republicans contend that high levels of government spending have contributed both to the nation's economic troubles and the slow-paced recovery. They want to cut taxes, slash spending and scale back regulations they say are strangling private-sector job creators.

Democrats, on the other hand, see government as an active player on the road to recovery. They want to hike infrastructure spending, provide help to struggling states and increase taxes on corporations that outsource jobs.

President Obama, who's expected to unveil a job-creation plan next month, has sought advice recently from some of the nation's top business leaders about what the package should include.

The Center for American Progress, a liberal think tank with strong Democratic ties, introduced a jobs plan of its own Friday, which focuses heavily on new infrastructure spending and other stimulus strategies. The group is urging Obama to propose similar provisions, even in the face of entrenched GOP opposition. 

Complicating the debate, there's also a partisan disagreement about what represents a valid job. In February, amid talks over a GOP proposal to cut 2011 spending by $61 billion, Boehner generated national headlines when he said some government jobs are expendable.

"Over the last two years since President Obama has taken office, the federal government has added 200,000 new federal jobs," Boehner said. "And if some of those jobs are lost in this, so be it."

Miller's bill arrives as Democrats are hoping to shift the national debate from deficit spending to job creation. Towards that aim, members of the Congressional Black Caucus have traversed the country this month on their "For the People" jobs tour, which will host its final stop in Los Angeles next week.

Additionally, leaders of the Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) are urging the newly named members of the deficit-cutting supercommittee to stage hearings on job creation as part of the process. The liberal lawmakers are concerned the deficit-reduction strategies being weighed focus too heavily on program cuts that will destroy low- and middle-income jobs.

"We've tried trickle-down economics and corporate giveaways before, and it led to the slowest job growth since World War II," Rep. Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz.), co-chairman of the CPC, said Friday in a statement. "We need open hearings on job creation policies that work if the American people are going to have faith in this process.”

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