WASHINGTON, DC – House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) released the following statement today regarding the Department of Labor’s unemployment report for October 2012:

“Four years of persistently high unemployment and long-term joblessness might be the best President Obama can do – but it’s nowhere near what the American people can do if we get Washington out of their way.

“The consequences of failed ‘stimulus’-style spending, excessive regulations, and the threat of tax hikes are all around us: record debt, higher gas prices, stagnant wages, and an economy that’s far weaker than it should be. The Obama administration predicted the unemployment rate would be below six percent by now. But the president’s policies only made it harder for small businesses to hire, his Democratic-controlled Senate is blocking nearly 40 House-passed jobs bills, and both are threatening to drive us off the ‘fiscal cliff’ in pursuit of tax hikes that would destroy 700,000 jobs.

“The American people deserve better. The House has already approved bipartisan legislation to stop all of the tax hikes, replaced the defense ‘sequester,’ and passed straightforward bills cutting red tape and saving programs like Medicare from bankruptcy. We’ve also begun the process of fixing our tax code to help bring jobs home. Now all we need is a partner in the White House who will lead the way on removing barriers to robust job growth – not create new barriers.”

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