Press Releases

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics jobs report released this morning, the economy added only 113,000 jobs last month, lower than what economists expected.  The unemployment rate saw little change at 6.6% and the number of Americans actually participating in the workforce remains at its lowest since the 1970s. 

Rep. Bucshon (IN-08) released the following statement: 

“As many Americans struggle through the fifth year of the slowest economic recovery since WW2, we are reminded again that the President’s policies are standing in the way of any chance at sustained growth.   This week, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office reported that ObamaCare is effectively a tax on labor that will push 2.5 million full-time workers out of workforce, hampering job growth and exacerbating our already low labor force participation. 

“The President still refuses to pass the Keystone pipeline project, which will create thousands of good-paying jobs and help secure American energy production, despite his own State Department’s report that the project will have no significant impact on the environment. 

“In the House, we want every American to have a fair shot at finding a job and we have passed dozens of jobs bills that will grow the economy and expand their opportunity to do so. I hope the President will join us, so that we can promote a stronger economy that gives hardworking Americans the opportunity to climb the ladder of success.”

BACKGROUND:

7.3 million Americans are involuntarily part-time workers, which means they are employed “…part time because their hours had been cut back or because they were unable to find full-time work.” (BLS; 2/7/2014)

3.6 million Americans have been unemployed for 6 months or more (accounting for more than 1 out of every 3 persons unemployed),  while the total number unemployed is 10.2 million. (BLS; 2/7/2014)

Real unemployment, a measure that includes discouraged workers and those employed part-time who would rather work full-time, was 14.0% and the labor force participation rate was at 63%. (BLS; 2/7/2014)

This week, the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office reported that ObamaCare is a tax on workers that will push 2.5 million full-time workers out of the workforce by 2024. (Forbes; 2/4/14)

“The State Department’s latest study — the product of more than five years of investigation — largely confirms the conclusions of previous assessments and those of many independent energy experts: Allowing the firm Trans¬Canada to build Keystone XL, which would run across the Canadian border to Steele City, Neb., is unlikely to have significant effects on climate-change-causing greenhouse gas emissions.” (Washington Post; 2/5/14)

Former Energy Secretary under President Obama, Steven Chu, has confirmed that the President's decision to hold off on the construction is purely political. AND Former Interior Secretary under President Obama called the project a win-win.