Obama Takes Executive Action on Jobs Plan

After lawmakers rejected some of his initiatives to boost hiring, President Barack Obama is taking executive action to enact parts of his jobs plan.

The Obama administration has announced several programs to help military veterans find work.

White House officials said Tuesday they want community health centers to hire 8,000 military medics over three years. Government agencies also will try to connect veterans to available jobs at health clinics.

The president has announced several executive actions in the past few days to strengthen the economy and bypass Republican lawmakers who have blocked his $447-billion job creation bill.

Republicans say the president’s legislation contains too much wasteful spending.

Congressman Kevin McCarthy, the third-ranking Republican in the House of Representatives, blasted Obama for campaigning for passage of his jobs bill.

“Yeah, we did hear the president that he could not wait. This country cannot wait for him to get off the campaign trail,” said McCarthy.

Republican House Speaker John Boehner said Tuesday the Democratic-controlled Senate has blocked Republican bills that he said would help create jobs.

Tens of thousands of troops will return home from Iraq in the next few months, before the U.S. withdrawal is set to conclude at the end of the year.

The veterans will face an economy in which the unemployment rate has been stuck around nine percent for several months.

Matt Flavin, who leads the White House Veterans, Military Families and Wounded Warrior Task Force, said many returning veterans will need help finding work.

“I think all Americans can agree that veterans should not have to fight for a job once they have come home from the fight overseas. But we have seen from the unemployment numbers, especially for post-9-11 veterans, that the case is, too many of our veterans are having to have that fight,” said Flavin.

The president has enacted several parts of his jobs bill through executive action.

On Monday, Obama announced a new program to help homeowners reduce their mortgage payments to avoid foreclosure and remain in their homes.