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 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and the need for President Obama and Senate Democrats to support the House Republican Plan for America’s Job Creators.
“I am encouraged by last month’s employment gains, but the facts don’t lie: President Obama’s policies have failed the American people and are making our economy worse. That’s why unemployment has been stuck above 8 percent for 36 months. The longest sustained period of high unemployment since the Great Depression continues, and Americans continue to suffer through a painfully tepid recovery made even slower by the president’s refusal to try our ideas.
“Under the president’s failed policies, more than one million Americans have lost their jobs; gas prices have doubled; the number of Americans having to rely on food stamps has climbed to an all-time high, while the number of new business start-ups has dropped to a 17-year low. According to the Census Bureau, nearly half of our citizens are now classified as either living in poverty or low income.
“President Obama came into office pledging to cut the deficit in half by the end of his first term. Instead, his failed policies have forced the deficit to double. Just this week, Congressional Budget Office announced that this president is on track to be the first in American history to produce trillion-dollar deficits every single year of his presidency.
“The president clearly can’t run for reelection on his record, which has failed to live up to any of his lofty rhetoric. That’s why he’s turned to the politics of envy and division. But dividing the nation won’t instill ‘fairness,’ create jobs, or grow our private sector. It’s a distraction from his failed policies.
“House Republicans have a Plan for America’s Job Creators and have passed nearly 30 bipartisan jobs bills that are still stuck on the Democrat-run Senate’s doorstep. It’s time for the president and his party to stop blocking our jobs bills and help us put Americans back to work.”
###
For additional information, contact:
House Republican Conference Press Office (conferencepress@mail.house.gov)
