While Democrats promised their 2009 stimulus would create 3.7 million jobs, the reality is far different.  To date, 2.6 million jobs - including 2.5 million private sector jobs - have been lost.  The latest data from the Department of Labor shows a total of 48 out of 50 States have lost jobs.  No wonder a Capitol Hill newspaper reported this week that such continued grim labor market… Read more

President Obama heads to Ohio tomorrow to continue to sell his economic “stimulus” plan.  One slight problem though – Americans simply don’t believe his stimulus plan is working.  As Abraham Lincoln famously said, “You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you cannot fool all of the people all of the time.”  And a quick look at the facts… Read more

Today’s data about first-time claims for unemployment benefits, a key metric of the current health of the labor market, revealed the highest level of initial claims in six months.  Last week, the July jobs report showed the official unemployment rate remaining stuck at 9.5% --the 15th consecutive month above 9%.  But even those grim statistics mask the true depth of despair in the U.S.… Read more

Washington, DC – Ways and Means Ranking Member Dave Camp (R-MI) today issued the following statement in reaction to the news that former Ways and Means Chairman Dan Rostenkowski (D-IL) passed away. “Dan Rostenkowski was larger than life, a strong chairman and a legislator who was able to work across party lines to produce significant results for the American people – most notably… Read more

Democrats suggest the State and local government bailout bill to be considered in the House on August 10 will temporarily “save” certain government jobs.  But what they won’t tell you is that the $9.6 billion in permanent tax hikes they would impose to “pay for” that extension of stimulus would destroy over 141,000 private sector jobs.  That would be on top of the 2.5 million private… Read more

With unemployment just under 10% and companies sitting on their cash, you would think that sooner or later job growth would take off. I think it's going to be later—much later. Here's why. Meet Sally (not her real name; details changed to preserve privacy). Sally is a terrific employee, and she happens to be the median person in terms of base pay among the 83 people at my little company… Read more

Washington, DC – Ways and Means Ranking Member Dave Camp (R-MI) today issued the following reaction to the July jobs report: “This economy is still very fragile and far too many Americans are still out of work.  If Democrats raise taxes on small businesses, which is what the White House and most Democrats in Washington want to do, we are all but guaranteed more job losses and a rougher… Read more

Good morning.  We are here today to consider about how best to keep children safe, and specifically what lessons have been learned from demonstration projects implemented under waivers of Federal child welfare law. We are privileged to have a distinguished panel of experts here to review those questions and more.  I would especially like to highlight the testimony of George Sheldon of… Read more

As Democrats’ “recovery summer” continues to disappoint, many long-term unemployed Americans have become so discouraged over their prospects of finding a job that they have quit searching for work altogether.  Ironically, with the way the government calculates the official unemployment rate, when that happens the unemployment rate drops -- since it measures unemployment only among those… Read more

JOE BIDEN CLAIM: “There are 3 million [more] Americans working today than there were before we took office.” FACTS: Employees in actual jobs are DOWN by 3.079 Million since January 2009.  Source: Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics   ### Read more