SEATTLE — President Barack Obama’s job plan would save 8,500 teacher and first responder posts and would create some 15,000 new positions in multimillion-dollar transportation and school maintenance projects in Washington state, according to estimates provided by Senate Democrats.
The estimates, released Friday, come a day after Obama unveiled his $447 billion plan in a televised joint session of Congress. The president is spearheading efforts to revive a stalled U.S. economic recovery.
Republicans were lukewarm, at best, on the proposal, with some saying that the plan differs little from previous stimulus packages.
Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers said her constituents told her they want less government involvement in the economic recovery.
“We need less government spending. We need less government borrowing. And we definitely need less government regulation,” she said in a statement after the president’s speech.
According to the plan, Washington may get $741 million for highways, transit, rail and aviation projects — generating about 9,600 jobs. Some 4,700 jobs could be created in the $365 million the state could receive to “modernize” schools, and some $83 million would go to community colleges.
Another $627 million would come to keep teachers, police and firefighters employed.
The president’s plan also aims to extend and reform unemployment insurance, which feeds unemployment benefits.
According to the plan, business payroll taxes will be cut in half to 3.1 percent for the first $5 million in wages, among other ideas to the tax code.
“Implementing a tax credit for companies that hire America’s veterans would be a promising step,” said Rep. Adam Smith, a Democrat. “Our returning warfighters are equipped with a variety of technical skills that are not always immediately recognized by the private sector.”
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