Obama pitches $477 billion proposal to Ohio

President Obama spoke about his jobs plan at a high school in Ohio and emphasized that it would fund the moderization of schools across the country and put millions of Americans to work. Ohio is a critical swing state and Obama is expected to campaign heavily there.

COLOMBUS, OH (Catholic Online) - Obama's speech to the nation before the crowd of students was designed to build support for his jobs bill which has come under heavy criticism from congressional Republicans. He encouraged the students and voters nationwide to write, call, and tweet their representatives to urge passage of the bill. 

The White House says the $25 billion for schools could help 35,000 public schools across the country, particularly those in rural and Native American tribal areas. 

Obama said to the crowd, "There are construction projects like this all over the country just waiting to get started, so my question to Congress is: What on earth are you waiting for?"

The Republicans already have their answer. Conservative leaders criticize the plan as costly stimulus and took exception to paying for the plan by taxing the wealthy and corporations. They say the plan will kill jobs rather than create them. They also point out that billions of dollars spent in previous stimulus efforts did not recover the economy, so they see little sense in trying what they say has already failed before.

Recognizing the criticism, Obama has expressed though his press secretary, Jay Carney, that if Congress passed parts of the bill piecemeal, he would sign those pieces into law. Carney also said that, "Congress will have a lot of explaining to do" if they have not moved aggressively to boost job growth. 

Kevin DeWine, chairman of the Ohio Republican Party told reporters Tuesday morning, "It's great to talk about schools, but I'm not willing to say that just because the president pulls $25 billion dollars out of thin air, that's something that members of Congress should blindly support."

Majority Leader harry Reid has not decided what to do with the President's bill just yet, but he has planned a caucus meeting on for Thursday. After that, we should see how bright, or dim, the future is for Obama's $477 billion proposal. 

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