Duffy: Jobs bill not DOA

The words “dead on arrival” are not being used by one Wisconsin freshman Republican for President Obama’s 447 billion dollar jobs bill.

Northern Wisconsin Congressman Sean Duffy says he agrees with many parts of Obama’s bill, including new free trade agreements, extending the payroll tax cuts, ending oil and gas corporate subsidies and closing tax loopholes.

“There’s corporate welfare, crony capitalism,” he said. “We have loopholes in our tax code that benefit the very wealthy and big corporations. We need to root those out and make sure we have a fairer, flatter tax code.”

Duffy also favors cutting depreciation tax breaks for corporate jets and extending the Federal Aviation Administration and Transportation funding. Even so, the Ashland Republican calls the President’s proposal “Stimulus II.”

“The President wants to do something beyond that though. He wants to put those kind of spending programs on steroids,” Duffy said. “He thinks that’s going to turn the economy around. You can get some short-term jobs on that kind of government spending, but it’s quite costly.”

But Duffy does believe a job creation bill will pass Congress.

“There’s plenty that divides us, but there are a lot of things we agree on that we can focus on that can help move the ball down the field,” he said.

The President’s jobs bill would be paid for in part by ending tax loopholes for individuals making more than $200,000 and families earning more than $250,000 a year.

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