Obamateurism of the Day

So much of the State of the Union speech ends up being a rehash. Few if any items are truly new; usually the ideas proposed by a President in a SOTU have already floated around Capitol Hill for a while, and are included to either provoke a reaction or to signal allies in Congress to finally get the ball rolling — on your own ideas.

However, it is a little unusual for a President to unveil initiatives as his own that the other party has already accomplished.  John Boehner got the oddest sense of deja vu while sitting on the dais behind Obama during the speech:

House Republicans have spent the last year focused on helping American small businesses expand and create new jobs. Today, the President unveiled a package of ideas designed to do the same – and most of them look strikingly familiar. In fact, many of the ideas endorsed by the President today have already been put forward – and acted on – by House Republicans. The proposals, highlighted below, could already be law if the United States Senate would simply act.  From slashing bureaucratic red tape to easing the tax burden for small businesses, the House has done its work, while the Senate has consistently blocked House-passed legislation.  Republicans appreciate the President sending these bills to Congress today, but perhaps to speed the process along, he should simply submit them to the Senate – now the last roadblock to helping American small business job creators.

It’s not just one overlooked bill, either:

The President proposes to “Expand Mini-Offering Limits,” while the House has already acted on:

• The Small Company Capital Formation Act, introduced by Rep. David Schweikert (R-AZ) – Passed the HouseNovember 2, 2011

The President proposes “Crowdfunding,” while the House has already acted on:

• The Entrepreneur Access to Capital Act, introduced by Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-NC) – Passed the HouseNovember 3, 2011

The President proposes to “Extend 100 Percent Depreciation,” while the House has already acted on:

• The Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act, introduced by Rep. Dave Camp (R-MI) – Passed the HouseDecember 13, 2011

The President proposes “Relieving the backlog of immigrant visas,” while the House has already acted on:

• The Fairness for High Skilled Immigrants Act, introduced by Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-UT) – Passed the HouseNovember 29, 2011

The President proposes Creating an “IPO on-ramp,” while the House is currently acting on:

• The Reopening American Capital Markets to Emerging Growth Companies Act, introduced by Rep. Stephen Fincher (R-TN) – House Financial Services Committee held a hearing December 15, 2011

Too bad Barack Obama has been saddled with a do-nothing Congress, huh?

Got an Obamateurism of the Day? If you see a foul-up by Barack Obama, e-mail it to me at [email protected] with the quote and the link to the Obamateurism. I’ll post the best Obamateurisms on a daily basis, depending on how many I receive. Include a link to your blog, and I’ll give some link love as well. And unlike Slate, I promise to end the feature when Barack Obama leaves office.

Illustrations by Chris Muir of Day by Day. Be sure to read the adventures of Sam, Zed, Damon, and Jan every day!