McCarthy: America Needs Economic Certainty, Not More of the Same Washington Spending
Washington D.C. – Congressman McCarthy issued the following statement after the U.S. Department of Labor announced a 9.7% national unemployment rate in January and that an additional 20,000 jobs were lost last month.
"Since the 2009 Democratic-crafted stimulus was signed into law, over 3 million Americans have lost their jobs, including many of our loved ones and neighbors. The Administration estimated that with the stimulus, unemployment would not go above 8.5%, and today unemployment still remains too high at 9.7%.
"2010 is our opportunity to move past this great recession. Instead of more of the same Washington spending, like the Administration's $3.8 trillion budget that would borrow, spend, and tax too much, Congress must prioritize spending in a smarter way and help create an environment of certainty. For instance, Congress must drop counter intuitive economic policies like cap-and-trade that would impose a national energy tax on American families and a health care bill that imposes a job-killing tax hike on small businesses.
"We already saw Congress add insult to injury yesterday by increasing our national debt limit by $1.9 trillion, which will drive up the debt to a record level of $14.2 trillion. This is yet another example of an out-of-touch Washington continuing down a path of economic uncertainty when Americans are calling for fiscal sanity.
"If we want to help Americans get back to work, Washington needs to change and get past its appetite for record high deficits, spending, and borrowing. That is why my colleagues and I are calling for a no-cost jobs plan that creates a stronger economic environment of certainty by reducing burdensome regulations, stopping looming tax increases, and approving free trade agreements that create more jobs through more exports."
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Analysis of Latest U.S. Jobs Figures (Hudson Institute)