Washington, D.C. –Congressman Rick Berg today released the following statement in response to the January unemployment report released today by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Today’s report shows that the national unemployment rate has dropped from 8.5 percent to 8.3 percent.

“Anytime jobs are added to the economy, it’s a good thing. But with unemployment remaining above 8 percent for the 36^th straight month, it’s clear that President Obama’s big government policies are not providing Americans with the economic recovery that he promised,” Berg stated.  “Time and time again, President Obama has chosen politics over common sense, job-creating policies, like the Keystone XL pipeline expansion.  This project would create thousands of jobs, strengthen North Dakota’s energy sector, and help break our nation’s dependence on foreign oil.  By blocking this job-creating project, President Obama continues to stand as a roadblock to expanding domestic energy production and creating the jobs our nation desperately needs. If President Obama is serious about getting our country back on track, he would look to the common sense solutions that have worked in North Dakota and work toward policies that lower regulatory burdens on America’s job creators, encourage domestic energy production, and provide American families and small businesses with certainty to invest in our economy. ”

On January 9, 2009, the Obama administration released projections that unemployment would not break 8 percent if Congress passed the stimulus.  The President’s projections also showed the passage of the stimulus would result in unemployment rates no higher than 6.4 percent during the first quarter of 2012—2 percent less than unemployment sits today, three years after the passage of Obama’s failed stimulus.  Today, 12.8 million Americans are still out of work, and an additional 11 million are either underemployed or have stopped looking for work altogether.

Last month, President Obama announced that his administration would reject the permit for the construction of the Keystone XL pipeline, in turn blocking the creation of thousands of American jobs.  Berg continues to help lead efforts in the House to move the Keystone XL approval forward, while North Dakota Senator John Hoeven is also working in the Senate on proposals to move forward the project.

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