Van Hollen on Fox: We Should Be Doing Better & Creating More Jobs

Washington, DC – Today Maryland Congressman Chris Van Hollen, Ranking Member of the House Budget Committee, was interviewed on Fox News’ America’s Newsroom on the jobs report and the need to replace the sequester and boost job growth. Below are highlights and the full video of his interview:

On the Jobs Numbers Out Today –

“Well, there’s clearly some good news in the jobs report. In other words, we are gaining jobs – over 160,000 new jobs. Unemployment has ticked down. That’s good news. But I think there’s agreement that we should be doing better. We should be creating more jobs, we should be producing more economic growth. There’s some disagreement as to how we do it.”

On the Sequester –

“I believe one of the brakes we have on the economy is the continued application of the sequester. And that’s not just my view. As you know, Bill, the non-partisan, independent Congressional Budget Office predicts that if the sequester remains in place, that by the end of this year you’ll have 750,000 fewer American jobs than you would otherwise, and that just doesn’t make sense.”

On the Need for Infrastructure Investment –

“We also know that we have huge infrastructure needs in this country. The American Society of Civil Engineers has given our infrastructure the very lousy grade of a D [plus]. We have 13 percent unemployment in the construction industry still, according to the most recent numbers that just came out. So why not meet this important national need, and also put people back to work?”

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