Even though President Obama had football to compete with when he delivered his televised message to Congress, his words still drew local and national attention.

In his speech, the president outlined his new American Jobs Act to members of a joint Congress.

The plan is designed to create new jobs for construction workers, teachers, veterans and the long-term unemployed. It also aims to provide tax credits to companies that hire new workers and give tax relief to small business owners and tax cuts to the middle class.

With the unemployment rate at 9.1 percent, according to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, job security for many is low. And while tax cuts and credits are important incentives, most Americans are concerned with jobs and the creation of them.

The high unemployment rate, coupled with the current domestic and global economic instability, has drummed up support for the President’s plan from some groups, including those on campus.

Andy Suchorski, a junior in the College of Arts & Sciences and communications director of the Marquette University College Democrats, said he feels the plan aptly addresses the need for job creation.

“It’s a common sense plan, full of ideas from both parties, and it will provide a jolt to the economy,” Suchorski said. “According to the top economist at Moody’s, President Obama’s plan will raise gross domestic product growth by two percent and create 1.9 million new jobs.”

The president stressed in his speech that the theories are not new and have received bipartisan backing.

“There should be nothing controversial about this piece of legislation,” Obama said in the speech. “Everything here is the kind of proposal that’s been supported by both Democrats and Republicans.”

The federal government will pay for the American Jobs Plan in full while paying down the national debt, Obama said. He plans to make adjustments to Medicare and Medicaid and raise the taxes of the wealthiest Americans to help cover the cost of the plan, estimated at $447 billion.

Both parties may support the premises of the plan, but some are reluctant to pass it with the immediacy Obama called for. The plan is yet to be completed, and some hesitate at the ambiguities of how the government will stimulate the economy while paying for this plan and reducing the nation debt.

“If we move too fast on something like this, it could have unintended consequences,” said Ethan Hollenberger, a senior in the College of Business Administration and chairman of the Marquette University College Republicans.

Hollenberger is also skeptical on the ability of the president to deliver on the economic front.

“All these promises have been made by the president, but the questions remain about whether his ideas will work in our economy,” Hollenberger said. “He needs to take the uncertainty and instability out of the equation.”

Obama has proposed putting construction workers back to work fixing roads and bridges across the nation. He also said schools should be repaired both externally and financially so they can hire more teachers, who will in turn bolster the nation’s education system.

As a part of the plan, he called for tax breaks to businesses that hire new workers or raise workers wages. He also proposed companies receive tax credits if they hire veterans or those who have been looking for a job for more than six months.

“The purpose of the American Jobs Act is simple: to put more people back to work and more money in the pockets of those who are working,” Obama said.