MIAMI, FL – Today, Congresswoman Frederica Wilson (D-Fla.), issued the following statement on the October 2012 jobs report:

“Today’s jobs report shows steady economic growth with 171,000 jobs added in October. Employers are hiring more and more workers and the gains were widespread across most industries. Consumers are spending; auto sales are up, and home prices are on the rise. These are all signs of growing consumer confidence, and that our economy continues to move in the right direction under President Barack Obama’s leadership. The President is committed to putting people back to work. We can’t afford the Republican plan that would take us back to the same old failed policies that crippled our economy in the first place. From day one, my focus has been jobs, jobs, jobs. Since the House Republicans have been in charge, they have refused to bring up one single jobs bill. President Obama’s American Jobs Act is based on proven job creation measures, as is my proposed Jobs Now Act. By contrast, all the Republicans propose are more tax cuts for millionaires and billionaires, to double down on the failed trickle-down economic theory that got us into this mess in the first place. I’ve been in Congress for nearly two years now, and I am still waiting for the opportunity to vote on a bill that will create jobs,” says Congresswoman Wilson.

Congresswoman Wilson’s Jobs Now Act Still Awaiting Congressional Action

On July 18, 2011, Congresswoman Wilson introduced the Jobs Now Act, a federal direct-hire bill patterned after the highly successful CETA (Comprehensive Employment and Training Act) program of the 1970s and 1980s that was enacted by the Nixon administration. The Act would provide $2 billion in federal funds over two years for immediate job creation through a funding formula going directly to cities, counties and non-profit organizations, with a preference for cities – such as Miami – with high unemployment, home foreclosures and poverty.

The Jobs Now Act is a temporary, targeted program designed to get people back to work right away. It would cut the red tape of federal funds going through state bureaucracies, giving mayors and county executives the flexibility and resources they need to retain, hire, or train workers immediately. At the end of two years, Congress would be required to report on the number of individuals retained, newly-hired and/or trained.

                                                                                                        ###

U.S. Rep. Frederica S. Wilson is a first-term Congresswoman from Florida representing parts of Northern Miami-Dade and Southeast Broward counties. A former state legislator and school principal, she is the founder of the 5000 Role Models for Excellence Project, a mentoring program for young males at risk of dropping out of school.