"Unemployment Shouldn’t Be Rising. America Can Do Better”

Washington, D.C. – Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA), Vice Chair of the House Republican Conference, released the following statement after the Labor Department announced that the national unemployment rate rose from 9.0% to 9.1% in May.  

“Today’s report is more evidence that President Obama’s ‘spend, borrow and bailout’ policies have clearly failed.  To grow jobs in the private sector, we need to shrink the size of the public sector.  That means lower taxes, less government spending, reducing the record budget deficit, and stopping burdensome regulations.  House Republicans have a plan to get our economy moving again.  Now we just need the President to work with us to implement it.” 

Since President Obama took office, 2.5 million Americans have lost their jobs.  The national unemployment rate has been above 8.5% for 27 straight months – the longest streak since the Great Depression.  The average person’s stay on unemployment is more than twice as high than at any point in the past 50 years.

“Two and a half years into Barack Obama’s presidency, the national unemployment rate still continues to rise.  That’s unacceptable.  America can do better.”