“Thousands of Nevadans and millions of Americans rely on unemployment benefits to support their families during these economic times.  Families are struggling and now more than ever they need all the assistance they can get.  That is why it was important for us to extend these benefits. We will continue to work toward a long-term extension of these benefits to ensure that middle-class Americans will have the economic certainty that they need to make ends meet.

“I was encouraged to see some of my Republican colleagues join us in extending these benefits, but I am disappointed that so many more voted to continue blocking this much-needed measure.  It is beyond reason why the same Republicans who gave tax breaks to Wall Street bankers who played Russian roulette with the economy and rich CEOs who shipped your jobs overseas now want to block assistance to unemployed Americans.  Senate Democrats remain committed to supporting Americans still looking for work, passing job-creating measures and strengthening our economy.”

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Camp stated, “The Obama Misery Index highlights how the Democrats’ stimulus plan has been a costly failure.  Since the President took office, 3 million Americans have been added to the unemployment rolls while public debt soared by $2 trillion – or about $27,000 per family of four.  As Democrats promote more ‘jobs bills,’ Americans should ask whether these latest proposals will actually create jobs and lower the debt.  The evidence suggests not.  It’s time for a change in course.”

Source: Ways and Means staff calculations, using Department of Labor and Department of Treasury data.

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“I’m disappointed Congress chose to go on vacation instead of extending unemployment benefits for some Americans.  Congress had several opportunities to extend these benefits in a fiscally-responsible manner before our Easter break but rejected all of them.  It’s time for Congress to do what’s right for both the unemployed and future generations and do the hard work of paying for important priorities,” Dr. Coburn said.

Additional background on unemployment debate:

CLAIM: Senator Coburn is single-handedly blocking the unemployment extension.

FACT: Instead of holding a cloture vote on Saturday, March 27 to advance the bill, Senator Reid chose to attend an event with the NRA. Dr. Coburn isn’t responsible for the majority’s decision not to come to work. (Note congressional record)

FACT: Dr. Coburn and every Senate Republican voted to stay in session and work through this issue.  Forty-nine Senate Democrats voted to go on vacation while four voted to stay.

FACT: Senate Democrats voted AGAINST extending unemployment benefits twice last week (votes here and here).

FACT: House Democrats rejected an agreement reached in the Senate that would have extended these benefits with an offset for one week.

CLAIM: Congress never agrees to offset “emergency spending”

FACT: Senate leaders agreed to offset a one-week extension of these benefits last week.  This impasse is between House and Senate leaders, not Dr. Coburn and the rest of Congress.

FACT: In 1995, emergency spending associated with the Oklahoma City bombing was offset.

FACT: Our debt and deficit are as much of an emergency as unemployment.  A job is the best unemployment benefit.  An economy with as much debt as ours can’t create jobs as quickly as we need them.  As Dr. Coburn said last week, Congress could easily come up with an offset to pay for this extension.

CONTINUING EXTENSION ACT OF 2010–MOTION TO PROCEED — (Senate – March 25, 2010)

[Page: S2099]  GPO's PDF

CLOTURE MOTION

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I move to proceed to Calendar No. 323, H.R. 4851, and I send a cloture motion to the desk.

The PRESIDING OFFICER. The cloture motion having been presented under rule XXII, the Chair directs the clerk to read the motion.

Mr. REID. Mr. President, I am soon going to call up an adjournment resolution. But there has always been a misunderstanding as to what an adjournment resolution is. The mere fact we are going to adopt an adjournment resolution tonight does not mean we are going to run to the airports tonight. We have, under this adjournment resolution, the ability to work past tonight, and we are going to do that. We are going to be in a period of morning business tomorrow from 9:30 to 12:30. We are going to be talking about the unemployment compensation extension. That time is going to be equally divided. There is going to be some time spent tonight after this adjournment resolution is adopted, until about 9 or 9:30, talking about unemployment compensation.

So I want everyone to understand, the fact that this adjournment resolution is adopted does not mean we are all leaving here tonight. In fact, we have until Wednesday under the adjournment resolution.

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“Families in Nevada and across America are struggling to make ends meet, and many are relying on unemployment insurance and health benefits as they look to find work.   It is inexcusable and irresponsible for Republicans to once again block the extension of these benefits.  Their excuses ring hollow to American workers who lost their jobs through no fault of their own and are trying to put food on the table, pay the rent, and take their children to the doctors.

“I am focused on passing our jobs agenda to put America back to work and support unemployed workers while they look for new jobs. I remain committed to extending these benefits short-term while we work toward a long-term solution.”

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The Daily Caller

As if the Obama administration hasn’t given union bosses enough “payback,” it is poised to give them even more – only this time the gift is as dangerous as Big Labor’s other agenda items such as the Employee “Forced” Choice Act, and will result in more job loss.

The new and badly mislabeled “High Road Contracting Policy” as reported in The Wall Street Journal will allow the government to “use its authority over how taxpayer money is spent to favor unions and their agenda. This is good news for Andy Stern and his Service Employees International Union. But not so good for job creation.”

First reported in The Daily Caller, the policy gives preference to any federal government contractor who complies with union-driven wage and benefit demands, and the government would rate each contractor according to yet-undefined evaluation factors – possibly blacklisting existing or new, non-union contractors from competing.

Simply stated, this is not the American way.

Get full story here.

“Any month in which the economy doesn’t create jobs is a disappointment. But today it’s clear that, thanks to the policies adopted by President Obama and the Democratic Congress, job losses are slowing to a halt. A year ago, America shed more than 700,000 jobs in February; this February, we lost 36,000. Its widely acknowledged that this number would have been better except for the snowstorms that hit the Northeast last month.

“Nevertheless, millions of Americans remain out of work, and Congress will continue to focus on creating jobs. We are past the stage of large reductions in jobs—now, we need to encourage employers to begin hiring. One of the most effective ways to do so, according to the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office, is creating a payroll tax credit for employers who hire new workers. The bipartisan HIRE Act, passed by the House yesterday, creates just such a tax credit, while continuing the job-creating projects that put Americans to work building much-needed roads, bridges, and more. I hope that the Senate will quickly move to final passage of the HIRE Act and send it to President Obama’s desk.”

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WASHINGTON, D.C. – House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-OH) issued the following statement after the Department of Labor reported that the U.S. economy lost 36,000 jobs in the month of February:

“Today’s disappointing jobs report makes the case for scrapping Democrats’ government takeover of health care, which is already keeping people out of work by saddling our small businesses with uncertainty amid the threat of higher taxes and burdensome mandates.  All these job losses certainly validate the American people’s opposition to putting the federal government in charge of one-sixth of our economy.

“Mother Nature is a force to be reckoned with, but it’s the blizzard of higher taxes, wasteful spending, and reckless borrowing coming out of Washington that’s destroying jobs in this country.  President Obama and Democratic leaders will come out of the woodwork today armed with rehashed promises to do better, but their top and seemingly only priority remains this unpopular, unaffordable government takeover of health care.  This partisan health care bill has become a national distraction, and it’s not too late to scrap it so we can start over with a clean sheet of paper and a step-by-step approach focused on lowering costs and protecting American jobs.

“Taxpayers aren’t getting their money’s worth from the trillion-dollar ‘stimulus’ and struggling families and small businesses are rightly asking ‘where are the jobs?’  Republicans have proposed a no-cost jobs plan to help small businesses put people back to work and get our economy moving again.”

NOTE: A new analysis by economist Diana Furchtgott-Roth, a member of Leader Boehner’s informal “kitchen cabinet” of economic advisors, takes a skeptical view of White House claims that the new national jobs numbers look significantly worse than they otherwise would have due to the snowfall that affected some states last month.

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