Gwen Graham: “I first thank my colleagues, Senator Dorgan and Senator Mikulski, who have raised the issue of will it be American jobs…”

“I first thank my colleagues, Senator Dorgan and Senator Mikulski, who have raised the issue of will it be American jobs the JOBS bill will create. That is a core question which is raised by the amendment I have brought to the Senate. We are about to spend $170 billion over the next 10 years with the stated objective being to create jobs for American men and women. The question is: How effective will this legislation be in achieving that goal? Is it worth $170 billion under these conditions to be spent or is there not a better way to allocate that same amount of money that will have a greater likelihood of actually creating jobs in the United States? I would like to put this into some context. The context is where have we been in the recent past and where are we today in terms of jobs for American men and women. The manufacturing sector of the American economy has lost 2.8 million jobs since January of 2001. It may well be this administration will end up as the first administration in 70 years, since the administration of President Herbert Hoover, to preside over a net decline in private sector employment in the United States. The unemployment rate has increased 36 percent since January of 2001. The number of long-term unemployed has increased 175 percent.”