WASHINGTON— House Small Business Committee Chairman Sam Graves (R-MO) today issued the following statement after the U.S. Department of Labor reported that 80,000 jobs were created in October while the unemployment rate fell to nine percent:

“New claims for unemployment benefits were down last week and U.S. workers' productivity rose in the third quarter for the first time this year. While there are signs that the economy is improving, there are more signs that the economy is still in a historic sluggish downturn— such as Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke’s announcement this week that they are increasing projections for unemployment.

“Contrary to the President’s claim that Congress is not doing anything to address jobs, the House has passed over 20 ‘jobs bills’ that are sitting in the Senate. In fact, this week, the House voted on two ‘jobs’ bills, the Access to Capital for Job Creators Act (H.R. 2940) and the Entrepreneur Access to Capital Act (H.R. 2930), which would help open up additional avenues for small firms to raise capital, start businesses and grow.

“As we heard yesterday in a hearing on tax policy, small businesses are looking for certainty and consistency from Washington before they invest in their companies. With small firms being our best hope for job creation and long-term economic recovery, we should not delay in fostering this environment. This means peeling back onerous regulations, lowering taxes and living within our means here in Washington.”

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