Dems Ask GOP: 'Where Are the Jobs?'

Abortion. Health care. Spending cuts. All three are at the center of Republicans' agenda one month in as the majority in the House.

What's missing? Jobs, Democrats say, claiming the GOP is glossing over what should be America's No. 1 priority.

Though Democrats were hammered during the campaign for pursuing stimulus-style programs which have failed to significantly lower the unemployment rate, they counter that Republicans aren't proposing anything.

"You know, their whole campaign was jobs, jobs. Where are the jobs?" Rep. Louise Slaughter, D-N.Y., said. "They have not done a single jobs bill since they've taken over."

It's a refrain that Democrats are pushing as they start early to undermine Republicans' credibility on the economy, with the 2012 presidential campaign around the corner.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has launched a website, called whenarethejobs.com, tracking the number of days that it says have passed without a GOP jobs proposal. Right now, the ticker displays no "job creation bills" 36 days into House Speaker John Boehner's tenure.

With Republicans pushing three separate bills proposing additional abortion-funding restrictions, Democrats also flocked to the podiums and the studios this week to decry the GOP agenda as one that has very little to do with jobs.

"Frankly, we would have thought that the Republican majority would join with us to talk about how we could create good jobs for Americans," Rep. Diana Degette, D-Colo., said Wednesday.

Republicans say this line of attack is preposterous.

While Democrats have tried to heal and grow the economy by pumping out state aid and infrastructure spending -- while granting various forms of tax relief -- Republicans argue that reducing the size and reach of government goes hand-in-hand with job creation.

They say their push to repeal the health care law, combined with efforts to streamline regulations and cut government spending, are all aimed at helping employers grow their business.

"House Republicans' top priority is helping to create jobs," Boehner spokesman Michael Steel told FoxNews.com in an e-mail. "We've voted to do that by repealing Washington Democrats' health care law -- filled with mandates, higher costs and tax hikes. And, by working to cut government spending and eliminate burdensome regulations, we're creating an environment to get the economy moving again."

That's been Republicans' argument since they took office. Despite accusations that their floor schedule doesn't reflect an economic agenda, GOP leaders consistently have vowed to keep jobs a priority by using a different approach from the Democrats.

"This Congress is going to be about jobs and the economy," House Majority Leader Eric Cantor said Tuesday. "We are going to be a cut-and-grow Congress."

In other words, cut the public sector. Grow the private sector.

As Republicans seek up to $100 billion in spending cuts in the rest of this year's budget, leaders in both chambers say it's aimed at strengthening the economy.

"There's a direct connection between spending and debt and job creation," Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., said Tuesday, noting that sky-high debt can put a stranglehold on economic growth.

A House GOP aide also noted that the House will start Thursday considering a resolution to direct 10 committees to review regulations that hinder businesses. Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform, was holding a hearing Thursday to let business leaders gripe about burdensome regulations.

But one of the biggest business-related proposals since the beginning of the year was pitched by President Obama during the State of the Union address -- he proposed lowering the corporate tax rate. An administration official later confirmed that officials are looking at reducing the rate from 35 to 28 percent, potentially by reducing or eliminating the corporate deduction for interest payments on debt.

The president is also looking at new aid for the states, something Republicans may be less receptive toward.

Amid the debate, the employment picture may be improving slightly. Though officials warn high employment will take a long time to subside, the number of new jobless benefits claims dropped last week to a nearly three-year low. The jobless rate dropped to 9 percent in January.

Despite their differing approaches to job creation, House Republicans and the Obama administration have, for the moment anyway, agree on the need to get started in earnest.

House GOP leaders who met with Obama on Wednesday at the White House said the bulk of the meeting was spent talking about growing the economy. In their view, spending cuts are part of that legislative formula.

"The American people expect Washington to cut spending in order to grow jobs in America," Boehner said.

Suffice it to say, not all Democrats agree. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi released a statement claiming that Republicans' budget proposals would "cost jobs" and "undercut American innovation."