Senator Amy Klobuchar

Working for the People of Minnesota

Press Contact

Joel Gross
Press Secretary
(202) 224-3244

News Releases

Klobuchar Questions Fed Chairman Bernanke on Rising Debt

April 14, 2010

Washington, D.C. – At a Joint Economic Committee hearing today U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar urged Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke to address concerns over rapidly increasing national debt and the risk of future inflation.  Klobuchar also highlighted the need for greater action to combat high unemployment and questioned the chairman about retraining programs and incentives to help workers transition back to work after long periods of unemployment.

 “My number one priority is jobs, jobs, jobs,” said Klobuchar. “We are seeing signs of economic recovery but American workers are not out of the woods yet. Small businesses are the engines of job creation, and we need to make sure our businesses have the tools they need to survive, thrive, and start hiring again.”

Klobuchar also pressed Bernanke on the progress of the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform, which has been established to conduct a full evaluation of the federal budget and will make recommendations to Congress on ways to reduce federal debt. 

“Reining in spending will help get our fiscal house back in order and restore economic stability,” said Klobuchar. “In order to secure a strong long-term economic outlook, we need to change the way our government does business.”

Klobuchar has long been an advocate of bipartisan solutions to the problem of out-of-control spending.  Klobuchar was an original cosponsor of the Bipartisan Task Force for Responsible Fiscal Action Act (S. 2853), which sought to establish a bipartisan commission of members of Congress and Administration officials who would make recommendations for substantial improvements to the government’s long-term fiscal imbalances. This legislation served as the framework for the National Commission established by President Obama in February 2010.

The Congressional Budget Office estimates that at the end of 2009, debt held by the public was $7.5 trillion or 53 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

Finally, Klobuchar focused on the importance of community banks and making sure regulatory reform efforts allowed them to continue providing valuable services to communities across Minnesota.

Minnesota’s unemployment rate of 7.3 percent is down from 7.6 percent in October. However, Minnesota has 62,000 fewer jobs than it did a year ago, and as many as seven job seekers for every available position. In the past year Minnesota has lost 2.3 percent of its jobs while nationally jobs have declined by 2.5 percent.

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Senator Klobuchar’s Offices

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