Press Releases

Congressman Larry Bucshon (IN-08) released the following comment in response to President Obama’s remark at a Friday, June 8, 2012 press conference in which he said, “The private sector is doing fine.”

Congressman Bucshon (IN-08) states:

“President Obama is clearly out of touch with reality if he believes the private sector, the backbone of our economy, is ‘doing fine’.  With unemployment over 8 percent for 40 consecutive months – all under his watch – and 23 million Americans without jobs, I believe he should focus on getting Americans back to work instead of holding press conferences using politically charged, campaign-style rhetoric.

“The first course of action should be to encourage the Senate to take up more than 30 jobs bills the U.S. House has passed this Congress, including approval of the Keystone XL pipeline which would immediately create 20,000 jobs.  The failed policies of the Obama administration have left millions of Americans without opportunities as they struggle to make ends meet, yet President Obama thinks they’re ‘doing fine’.”

Background:

On Friday, June 8, 2012, President Obama attempted to walk back his statement by saying, “Listen, it is absolutely clear that the economy is not doing fine.  That’s the reason I had the press conference.”

The unemployment rate for May 2012 was 8.2 percent, the 40th consecutive month over 8 percent beginning in February 2009.  Since President Obama took office, the nation has lost 552,000 jobs.

According to ABC News from June 1, 2012, “Economists generally agree that a healthy economy must create at least 200,000 jobs a month and the unemployment rate needs to fall to 6 percent or below.”

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistic, the economy added 82,000 private sector jobs in May 2012.  The change in total nonfarm payroll employment for March was revised down to 143,000 from 154,000, and the change for April was revised down to 77,000 from 115,000.

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