Boehner made his remarks as White House officials disclosed that the president intends to travel to Cincinnati next week as he campaigns for public support of his $447 billion proposal to cut into the nation’s 9.1 percent unemployment rate. The political symbolism of the site was unmistakable: an overcrowded bridge that links Boehner’s Ohio with Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell’s Kentucky, a span the president has cited as an example of the repair work his jobs program would make possible.
Separately, White House spokesman Jay Carney said Obama will not recommend any budget savings from Social Security when he releases his recommendations to the deficit-cutting committee next week, despite the president signaling support for that idea in summertime debt-reduction talks with Boehner.
The day’s events underscored the extent to which the committee of 12 lawmakers is likely to be guided by the views of the most senior leaders in both political parties as it tries to develop legislation to reduce deficits by $1.2 trillion or more over a decade.
The panel has almost unlimited authority to recommend changes in federal spending and taxes and is working against a deadline of Nov. 23. It held a closed-door meeting during the day; officials declined to provide details of what was discussed.
In his speech, Boehner was alternately critical of the president’s economic policies and somewhat conciliatory.
“Businesses are not going to hire someone for a $4,000 tax credit if government mandates impose long-term costs on them that significantly exceed the temporary credit,’’ he said, describing a portion of what the president asked Congress to approve in his jobs program.
“Let’s be honest with ourselves,’’ he said. “The president’s proposals are a poor substitute for the pro-growth policies that are needed to remove barriers to job creation in America.’’
