On the recordOctober 13, 2011
I am here on the floor today to share a few thoughts on a topic that has a daily impact upon the lives of Americans. It is the topic we have had front and center now for a long time--job creation. Whether a mom or dad can find a job directly impacts their ability to put food on their family's table, pay their mortgage, save for their children's education, and prepare for their own retirement. In August our economy failed to create any jobs. In September our economy created about 100,000 jobs, but that is not fast enough to get us out of our economic slump. The fact is that 14 million Americans are still out of work, and about 42 percent of those unemployed have been looking for a job for more than 6 months. We know those facts. Over the last few weeks, I have asked Kansans what their thoughts are about this circumstance, and we find many Kansans, as are others in America, discouraged, looking for work, unable to find a job. They want to know why our businesses are not creating those jobs and making them available for them. I recently had the opportunity to sit down with Kansans who own businesses in Overland Park--a suburb of Kansas City--and in Hutchinson--a community just outside Wichita--to talk about the economy and their outlook for our economic future. Throughout our conversations, it became clear the main reason businesses are not hiring is because of economic uncertainty. In fact, a survey conducted by the U.S.…
