Congressman Westmoreland: Democrats’ economic plans failing

The Obama administration announced this morning that the nation lost another 190,000 jobs last month, pushing the unemployment rate to 10.2 percent – the highest level since 1983.

“The Obama administration’s economic policies aren’t working, perhaps because the Democratic power structure has kept its focus on job-killing legislation such as cap-and-trade and a government takeover of health care,” U.S. Rep. Lynn Westmoreland said Friday. “Businesses are facing a brutal economic climate, for sure, but they aren’t going to take risks or hire new workers with the possibility of all these new taxes and mandates hanging over their heads.”

Since the administration passed its stimulus package in February, the United States has lost 3 million more jobs. Georgia alone has lost more than 130,000 jobs.

“On Saturday, the Democratic House is scheduled to make the problem even worse,” Westmoreland continued. “According to a methodology set up by the president’s own senior economic advisers, this health care plan will lead to the loss of 5.5 million more American jobs over the next 10 years.

“Health care coverage is of vital interest to the American people, and we have some serious work to do on that topic, but Washington should focus on job creation first in this economic climate. I think that’s what this week’s elections show: Voters are highly concerned about the state of the economy, and members of Congress need to understand that or they are going to face a very angry electorate next year.”