Colfax, WA – Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA), Vice Chair of the House Republican Conference, released the following statement today after the Labor Department announced that the national unemployment rate rose last month to 7.9 percent:

“The national unemployment rate is higher today than when President Obama took office, even though he’s added over $5 trillion to the national debt.   Whether it’s the ‘stimulus,’ the health care reform law, or the threat of a record tax increase, the President’s Big Government policies have clearly failed.  We need a new approach – one that unleashes the power of free enterprise and tames the growth of government. 

“The House has been doing its job, passing over 40 jobs bills, but the Senate refuses even to consider most of them.  The Senate hasn’t even passed a budget in more than 1,000 days.  That’s because they’re more interested in protecting the President than listening to our job creators, who understand first-hand how the Administration’s policies have hurt our economy.  The President should take a cue from Ronald Reagan who inherited an even deeper recession but then rejuvenated the economy by working with Congress on a pro-growth, free-market agenda. 

“I urge the President and the Senate to take today’s report to heart and work with the House on a new approach, one rooted in common sense, bipartisanship, and putting people first, not government.” 

To learn more about Rep. McMorris Rodgers’ work on jobs, click here.