Today, the White House is hosting a jobs forum, “to sound out ideas for accelerating job growth during the worst labor market in a generation,” as Democrats in both houses of Congress are attempting to craft jobs legislation. Yesterday, the administration for the first time expressed support for new legislation, so long as it has a “relatively small deficit impact.”

This effort comes in the wake of a Congressional Budget Office (CBO) report showing that the economic stimulus package is having its intended effect — creating or saving 600,000 to 1.6 million jobs — albeit in a weaker than anticipated economy.

Republicans, though, have said that additional jobs legislation “would meet resistance.” They’re justifying this position — aided by the conservative media — by claiming that the “failed economic stimulus” has not created jobs, despite the CBO reporting otherwise. Here’s a roundup of conservative statements that have occurred after the CBO released its report:

Rep. Eric Cantor (R-VA): The 800-billion dollar stimulus bill that Washington passed has failed to create – or save – the jobs it promised…There is now talk of a second — or is it a third – stimulus bill…More government spending, more bailouts for states, more transfer payments to individuals, expanded government agencies.

RNC Chairman Michael Steele: [Obama's] failed economic stimulus has considerably added to our national debt, skyrocketing it to a record-breaking $1.42 trillion in 2009…This time using a “jobs summit” to distract from the 10.2 percent national unemployment rate as well as President Obama’s and Congressional Democrats’ plans to unleash a second wave of stimulus spending on the American public, known as Stimulus II.

Rep. John Boehner (R-OH): Washington Democrats staked their credibility on a nearly trillion-dollar ‘stimulus’ that was supposed to be about putting people back to work…Given the last 11 months of outrageous ‘stimulus’ claims, the American people are right to wonder whether Washington Democrats can be trusted to create jobs and cut the deficit.

Wall Street Journal Editorial Board: [T]he stimulus has been a manifest bust, much as the critics who appeared on our pages predicted. As the recovery continues, sooner or later the economy will begin to create new jobs, thank heaven. But the stimulus won’t have much do with it, except insofar as the higher taxes to finance the runaway spending further retard private investment and hiring.

For their part, Republicans have organized an economic roundtable for today, chock full of former Bush administration and McCain campaign staffers who, among other things, are responsible for the Bush tax cuts and Medicare Part D. Cantor also released a jobs plan yesterday, which Andrew Leonard characterized as a “magic pony jobs plan.” “Cut regulations. Freeze spending. Cut taxes. No new taxes. That’s the plan,” Leonard wrote.

Cross-posted on The Wonk Room. Read more about confronting the jobs dilemma in today’s Progress Report.

On Tuesday, the Houston Chronicle reported that a few charities in Houston — including the Salvation Army — were checking the immigration status of needy families before giving out gifts in its annual toy drive. The organization then disputed the report, claiming that it requires at least one family member to present a Social Security number to deter fraud, not to “discriminate.” Yesterday, however, the charity reversed course. After a few dozen immigrants protested outside of a Los Angeles Salvation Army branch, the charity said that it was changing its policy and will no longer be checking Social Security numbers. Watch it:

Last night, Fox News’ Greta Van Susteren interviewed Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) and asked him about his recent claim that seniors “are going to die soon” if the Senate health care bill passes. “You’re going to see services eliminated. It’s going to lower the life expectancy of a lot of seniors!” Colburn complained.

Later, when asked what message he wanted to get “to the American people,” Coburn celebrated the current health care system in the U.S.:

VAN SUSTEREN: If you could get one message out to the American people tonight about this health care bill, what’s the bullet point message?

COBURN: We need to start over. We need to fix what’s really wrong in health care and we need to protect what’s really great. What’s really great is if you’re really sick anywhere in the world, this is the best place to be sick, it just costs too much.

Watch it:

Health care costing “too much” explains why the U.S. is not the best place to be when you’re sick. The U.S. has the most costly health care system in the world, spending just over 15.2 percent of GDP (the United Kingdom, which relies mainly on the single payer model, pays 8.3 percent).

A 2007 Commonwealth Fund study concluded that, “[c]ompared with five other nations — Australia, Canada, Germany, New Zealand, the United Kingdom — the U.S. health care system ranks last or next-to-last on five dimensions of a high performance health system: quality, access, efficiency, equity, and healthy lives.” In 2000, the World Health Organization ranked the U.S. health care system 37th, behind countries such as Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Colombia, the UK, Oman, and France.

In fact many retirees who don’t yet qualify for Medicare are choosing to get sick in Mexico. USA Today reported in September that tens of thousands of American retirees are moving south of the border because health care is too expensive in the U.S.:

It sounds almost too good to be true: a health care plan with no limits, no deductibles, free medicines, tests, X-rays, eyeglasses, even dental work — all for a flat fee of $250 or less a year. …It’s unclear how many Americans use IMSS, but with between 40,000 and 80,000 U.S. retirees living in Mexico, the number probably runs “well into the thousands,” said David Warner, a public policy professor at the University of Texas.

“They take very good care of us,” said Jessica Moyal, 59, of Hollywood, Fla., who now lives in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, a popular retirement enclave for Americans.

Mexico’s health care system “was one of the primary reasons I moved here,” said another retiree, adding, “I couldn’t afford health care in the United States.”

Today, the House voted 225-200 to permanently extend the estate tax at its 2009 level, which is 45 percent for estates valued at more than $3.5 million ($7 million for a couple). Due to a Bush-era accounting gimmick, the estate tax was set to disappear in 2010, and come back in 2011 at a 55 percent rate on estates of $1 million. Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX), however, took to the floor to oppose the extension, complaining that his his great aunt once had to pay the 55 percent rate. Gohmert continued by arguing Jesus wouldn’t have wanted an estate tax:

Now, after someone dies and someone comes in and steals from them, we consider that in most society reprehensible. … But when the government comes in, because we have the power to pass laws and legalize theft that otherwise would be considered reprehensible, it’s okay. But it is not okay. … Jesus never advocated the government go steal. He said ‘you do it. Do it with your own money, don’t steal it from somebody else.’ And that is why this should not pass.

Watch it:

Apparently, Gohmert either doesn’t adhere to or hasn’t heard of Jesus’ admonition: “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.” An estate tax at the 2009 level exempts 99.8 percent of estates and affects about 100 small businesses and farms, almost all of which will be able to pay the tax without selling assets. The estate tax debate now moves to the Senate, where Sens. Blanche Lincoln (D-AR) and Jon Kyl (R-AZ) want to enact a cut that would cost $250 billion over ten years and overwhelmingly benefit wealthy families.