Speaker John Boehner issued the following release on the February jobs numbers, which showed the economy adding 227,000 jobs:
Today’s report provides some encouragement for millions of families and small businesses who continue to struggle in this economy, but unemployment remains far too high. It is a testament to the hard work and entrepreneurship of the American people that they are creating any jobs in the midst of the onslaught of anti-business policies coming from this administration.
Three years of ‘stimulus’ spending, tax hikes, and excessive government regulations have left us with unemployment that has remained above eight percent for 37 consecutive months, and Americans are increasingly worried about the amount of debt owed to countries like China. Meanwhile, gas prices have nearly doubled as the Obama administration has rejected new energy production, blocked and lobbied against projects like the Keystone XL pipeline, and promoted policies that would drive prices up even further.
Republicans have a plan for jobs that reduces spending, reforms the tax code, stops excessive regulations on small businesses like ObamaCare that are making it harder to hire new workers, and expands American energy production. And just yesterday, the House passed the bipartisan JOBS Act. Senate Democrats should take immediate action on the JOBS Act, and the rest of our jobs plan, so we can stop government policies that are adding to our debt, raising gas prices, and preventing robust private-sector job growth.
