Press Releases

Rep. John Kline (R-MN), the U.S. House Education and Labor Committee’s senior Republican member, issued the following statement today after the U.S. Department of Labor announced the national unemployment rate ticked upward to 9.9 percent:

“It is always a positive sign when an unemployed worker finds a job in this tough economy. The American people continue to show the strength and determination that will once again lift the nation out of difficult economic times. Yet today’s report is also a stark reminder of the challenges ahead and the cost of the Democrats’ reckless agenda.

“This latest jobs report reaffirms that we are far short of what the American people need and were promised. Last year, Democrats sold an $862 billion government spending bill by promising it would keep unemployment below 8 percent. With more than 2.6 million lost jobs and unemployment reaching 9.9 percent, it’s no surprise the American people want their money back and a different direction. A temporary spike in government workers is not an economic recovery.

“The last thing our country needs is to plunge deeper into debt to pay for even more wasteful government spending. We need robust private sector job creation to give workers the long-term stability they and their families need. That’s why Republicans have proposed commonsense solutions for job creation including tax incentives for small businesses and tax relief for working families. The sooner the Democrat leadership drops their unsustainable spending schemes and takes up the Republican jobs plan, the better.”

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