President Obama raises the curtain Thursday night on a $400 billion plan to jump start the nation’s economy. It’s called the American Job Act. But will it work?

It would pour thousands of jobs into the marketplace and bring down the 9.1 percent unemployment rate, for sure. But there is one big bump in the road: It has to be approved by Congress.

White House chief of staff Bill Daley says the president’s speech to lawmakers Thursday evening, is a proposal for innovative ideas for growing the economy. He says the American people are demanding that something be done to address persistent unemployment.

The devil is always in the details. Obama’s plans include new spending on transportation and infrastructure, the extension of a payroll tax cut for workers and a new payroll tax reduction for employers – a dragnet that includes just about every economic idea but the kitchen sink.

It would be a boon for the federal workforce that would have to administer the plan, oversee infrastructure investments and more work for the Internal Revenue Service that has to oversee extension of the payroll-tax cuts, a proposed mortgage incentive, and other tax incentives. And it would silence the critics who say Obama is a do-nothing top executive.
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Read why the current budget confrontation is good for one group of federal workers–and why one analyst calls this, “The Golden Age of the Budgeteer.”
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Yet all of it ultimately will depend on a Republican-controlled House that has a different economic approach and no political incentive to help a Democrat seeking a second term.

So before anyone runs to the bank, remember that Obama has to put the Republicans on the spot to act for what’s best for the country, not just their party in continuing to oppose just about anything the president brings up.

In one upbeat sign for those looking for a Washington compromise, House Speaker John Boehner and House Majority Leader Eric Cantor have told Obama they see potential areas of agreement on jobs – for example, infrastructure, which Obama has pushed repeatedly.

On Thursday, Boehner took the idea of a compromise on payroll taxes a step further.

“We know that the two parties aren’t going to agree on everything,” Boehner told reporters Thursday. “But the American people want us to find common ground, and I’ll be looking for it.”

If Obama’s plans do become reality, there would be plenty of work for policy wonks in federal agencies keeping track of the numbers. There would be new work for agencies administering many of the programs. And there will definitely be work for an existing oversight agency or the creation of a new one to be in command of the billions.

It’s not likely to swell the federal workforce. It just may bend the existing one even harder.

Democrats see this speech as a pivotal point in the face of a battered economy. If Obama can’t get his ideas passed heading into his re-election year, he at least hopes to show why he shouldn’t take the fall.

Bottom line: Don’t look for changes anytime soon. Don’t expect a big increase in federal jobs. Maybe, if something does pass, you’ll see a slow drop in unemployment but don’t bet your house on it.