Hensarling Statement on Latest Unemployment Report
WASHINGTON – House Republican Conference Chairman Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas) issued the following statement today regarding the latest unemployment report released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the need for President Obama and Senate Democrats to support the House Republican Plan for America’s Job Creators.
“Today’s numbers are no cause for celebration for almost a million people who have lost their jobs since President Obama took office. The fact that the real unemployment rate is 15.2 percent shows how the president’s policies have failed and indeed made our economy worse. For three straight years, unemployment has been above 8 percent. The Congressional Budget Office now predicts that it will stay at that level through 2014 – the worst period of sustained high unemployment since the Great Depression.
“Because the president cannot stand by his record of failed policies and broken promises, he has turned to the tired old politics of envy and division. But Americans aren’t looking for scapegoats, they need solutions. America has a deficit of jobs because job creators continue to have a deficit of confidence in this administration’s policies. New business start-ups are at their lowest point in almost two decades. That is why House Republicans have a Plan for America’s Job Creators that will help ease the pain of the president’s job-killing policies.
“Just yesterday, the Wall Street Journal put it perfectly: ‘There are plenty of things Washington could do to jump start growth and investment … House Republicans have passed literally dozens of bills that would help the economy. But they lie dormant in the Senate because Democrats won't endorse anything unless it comes with a major tax increase.’
“House Republicans continued to approve bipartisan aspects of our plan this week with the passage of the JOBS Act, which will help small businesses and entrepreneurs access vital equity capital and put Americans back to work. The bill does exactly what the president’s own job council recommends. It’s time for the president to sign this bill and the nearly 30 other bipartisan House-passed jobs bills awaiting his signature. It’s time to work together to give the American people the jobs and recovery they deserve.”
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For additional information, contact:
House Republican Conference Press Office (conferencepress@mail.house.gov)
