On the recordFebruary 23, 2010
Americans are hurting. One year ago, this Congress passed a $787 billion stimulus bill which was supposed to keep unemployment under 8 percent, but since its enactment more than 3.5 million jobs have been lost. The national unemployment rate remains around 10 percent, and in Ohio it is worse. Our unemployment rate is nearly 11 percent, and the real unemployment rate in some areas in my district is over 20. By all measures, this stimulus bill has failed to create jobs. Congress needs to act to provide the environment for private-sector job creation. Instead, this Congress continues to seek solutions that tax too much, spend too much, and borrow too much, creating massive debts for our children and our grandchildren. Let's focus on getting Americans back to work. More government borrowing and spending is only heaping more and more debt on our children and grandchildren and disincentivizing the job creators from creating the jobs. Let's work with solutions that put Americans to work, not take them from them.
