Post by bot on Nov 8, 2015 15:28:04 GMT -5
Hoyer Statement on October Jobs Report
WASHINGTON, DC – House Democratic Whip Steny H. Hoyer (MD) released the following statement today after the Department of Labor released its jobs report for October:
“Today’s jobs report ought to be received as welcome news, with the economy adding 268,000 private sector jobs last month and the unemployment rate falling to 5.0% - the lowest since April 2008. October was the sixty-eighth consecutive month of private sector job growth, and after the policies President Obama and Democrats set in place took our economy from crisis to recovery, we are now watching it move from recovery to resurgence. But these policies can only take us so far. It’s time for Congress to take the next step by working in a bipartisan way to capitalize on recent gains and provide our economy with the boost it needs to be more competitive and grow over the long term.
“The best way to do that is by ending the uncertainty that continues to hold back private investment in new factories, new innovation, and new hiring. Working together, Democrats and Republicans secured a major victory last week toward that end by voting to reauthorize the Export-Import Bank and help American businesses and their workers compete on a level playing field overseas. Now it is up to the Senate to act and send this Export-Import Bank reauthorization to the President’s desk without delay.
“However, even more importantly, Congress needs to show the private sector that it will end the cycle of governing from one manufactured crisis to the next, which only creates uncertainty and deters growth. With these latest job numbers, it may be more likely that the Federal Reserve will adjust monetary policies currently supporting the economy, which makes it even more important for Congress to provide fiscal certainty to reassure investors and potential investors that our economic future is sound. The budget agreement reached late last month was a positive step, but it must be followed by a commitment by both parties to work together to prevent a government shutdown in December and to negotiate in earnest over a long-term budget agreement that is fiscally sustainable and enables our nation to invest in the ingredients for future growth and competitiveness.
“With his recent election, Speaker Ryan has an opportunity to spend the coming months building on the bipartisanship we saw over the past couple of weeks by forging consensus to address our long-term fiscal and economic challenges. It would be a mistake for him to yield to an extreme wing of his party bent on using partisan efforts to rile up their base, the consequence being only more manufactured crises. Our economy is poised to continue growing good jobs that lead to opportunities for workers and their families – but only if Congress can set partisanship aside and work together to make sure our private sector has the right tools to succeed. House Democrats are ready to work with the new Speaker to invest in the economic resurgence for which our economy is poised.”