(Washington, DC) - Congressman Wally Herger today issued the following statement in response to news reports regarding House and Senate Democrats’ plans to deal with the ongoing economic crisis.  The Labor Department announced that the unemployment rate has reached 6.5 percent, the highest in fourteen years.  Congressman Herger’s remarks follow:

 “I am deeply concerned about the news of steeper-than-expected job losses and the highest unemployment rate in 14 years.  We need to take action to bring about real, sound, recovery-driving tax relief that creates jobs and allows American workers to keep more of their hard-earned money. 

 “I am pleased that Speaker Pelosi is advocating for a permanent tax cut, but we need to make sure that it is designed and applied in a manner that actually strengthens our economy in the near and long term.  We must avoid proposals that would fall far short of addressing our serious economic problems by attempting to spend our way out of this crisis, something that many economists have said simply won’t work.  Instead, we must develop a tax reduction plan that gets our economy growing again by enlivening our entrepreneurial spirit and enabling U.S. small businesses to retain and hire new workers.”