White House Casts Budget Deal as Jobs Engine

By John T. Bennett

Posted October 29, 2015 at 11:52am

The White House is describing a budget and debt deal it struck with congressional leaders as a job-creation engine, a day before a key Senate vote on the measure.

The Obama administration used a statement about gross domestic product growth during the third quarter of 2015 to predict the sweeping fiscal plan would create “an estimated 340,000 jobs in 2016.” The Senate is on track for a Friday procedural vote on the deal after the House passed it , with mostly Democratic votes, on Wednesday.

The Bureau of Economic Analysis found that during the third quarter, the gross domestic product rose 1.5 percent, according to the statement from Jason Furman, chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers. The White House said the growth rate was due to the “combination of solid domestic demand and volatile transitory factors.” For instance, personal consumption grew. But “inventory investment” slowed. And net exports were neutral.

The White House also used the GDP statement to lay out its legislative agenda.

“There is more work to do to foster long-term growth, including increasing investments in infrastructure, reauthorizing the Export-Import Bank, and opening new markets for our exporters through high-standards free-trade agreements like the Trans-Pacific Partnership,” the White House said. “We look forward to continuing to work with Congress to make progress on these important priorities.”