The House of Representatives was back Tuesday after a two week spring recess, and Democrats and Republicans are again sniping at one another, insisting they have the antidote to a sluggish economy.
"Americans all across the country - no matter where they're from or how old they are - are struggling to achieve a better life for themselves and their families,"said House Republican Conference Chairwoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., after House Republicans met.
"This economy and these policies aren't working and they aren't fair," she said, "and they're hurting more people than they're helping. So let's come together - the White House and Congress, Republicans and Democrats - to help give people better paychecks, better jobs, and better lives. Republicans have a long-term, pro-growth jobs plan to make that happen. We'll keep fighting until we do."
Democrats had a different take. They too met, for the first time since the recess ended.
Afterward, Minority Whip Steny Hoyer, D-Md., told reporters, "The Republican spring agenda is noteworthy for what it does not include, which are the major issues we believe that the Congress should be dealing with. Number one, of course, is comprehensive immigration reform… Unemployment insurance I think falls in the same category."
And, said Hoyer, "notwithstanding the fact that they want to build an America that works...in fact, there is no job creation legislation included within their agenda for the coming months. And if they were sincerely interested in building an America that works, they would work with us to do just that."
By David Lightman
McClatchy Washington Bureau