Members of Congress are turning their focus toward jobs creation in a bid to save their own, but they’re running into doubts from their own party about whether another stimulus-style package can do any good.

Democrats in Congress, knowing that the best way to keep their jobs may be to create some for others, are turning their focus toward another federal stimulus package. But they’re running into doubts about whether more of the same can do any good.

While the Obama administration is addressing jobs creation with a special forum on Thursday — a day before the government releases November jobless numbers — it is trying to stress deficit reduction and is avoiding making any more spending commitments. And Sen. Carl Levin, a powerful Democrat from hard-hit Michigan, said Sunday that he doesn’t see “a lot of evidence” that another stimulus would succeed. 

The downbeat assessments come as doubts are increasingly raised about the impact of the first $787 billion stimulus in February. The nation’s unemployment rate hit 10.2 percent in October, and it remains high even in states where the administration says the stimulus has saved or created the most jobs. In California, for instance, the administration says the package saved or created more than 110,000 jobs, but unemployment in the state is at 12.2 percent.

Critics say part of the problem is that the money is being used to keep government workers at the state level from being laid off, a move that saves jobs but does not necessarily spur economic growth. Other jobs, like those created through infrastructure spending, represent short-term employment gains. Such jobs would need constant infusions of public money to be sustained. 

“The only jobs we’re creating are government jobs. This nonsense about we’re creating and saving jobs — they’re non-existent,” former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee said on “Fox News Sunday.” “This has been the biggest scam and waste of taxpayer money.” 

But some prominent Democrats are building the case for another stimulus, even if they won’t call it a “stimulus” by name. They want extensions in unemployment benefits, tax incentives, more construction spending and other measures — though more than two-thirds of the first stimulus hasn’t been spent yet. 

Former Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean bluntly explained that the upcoming 2010 midterm congressional elections are a driving force behind Democrats’ support for more jobs legislation. 

“I think we’re going to have a tough election in 2010 unless we can start dealing with … the job situation,” he said on “Fox News Sunday.” 

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Press Release: Republican Study Committee,  Chairman Tom Price, MD

The Ballooning National Debt

Through the Ceiling, Through the Roof

Washington, DC – The United States Treasury is prohibited by law from issuing more than $12.104 trillion in debt. For the moment, that is. You see, the Treasury has a simple way to raise this statutory limit whenever it runs up against it. All they have to do is ask Congress!

Treasury Secretary Geithner made just such a request last August, due in large part to the $1.42 trillion deficit the federal government racked up during the 2009 fiscal year.

“The Treasury and the OMB noted that the $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program and the $787 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, not all of which has been used, accounted for 24% of the deficit total. As a result, the country is very near to breaching its so-called debt ceiling, currently set at $12.1 trillion. Lawmakers, however, are expected to vote to raise that ceiling this fall.” (CNN Money, 10/16/09)

The upcoming increase will probably set the debt limit somewhere north of $13 trillion. When the Democrats (including then-Senator Obama) regained control of Congress in January 2007, the debt ceiling was $8.965 trillion. Since then, they’ve raised the debt ceiling four times between September 2007 and February 2009 for a total of $3.139 trillion in more debt.

That’s a 35% increase in the debt ceiling in less than 17 months. Now, that takes determination.

And despite President Obama’s attempt to blame his predecessor and hide behind soothing rhetoric like…

“I just want things to work. But what I know will not work is us seeing our debt levels double again like they did under George W. Bush. We can’t do it and it’s a burden on future generations that I’m not willing to accept.” (CNN, 1/18/09)

…this ballooning debt burden is only going to get worse. In fact, though the President is apparently unwilling to accept a doubling of the national debt, he’s obviously okay with going above and beyond. Under his budget plan, the total national debt will actually more than double – reaching $24.498 trillion by 2019.

That’s gonna make for a lot of uncomfortable votes.