Letter To The Honorable George Miller, Chairman, House Committee On Education & Labor

Letter

Louisiana Congressman Bill Cassidy and 18 lawmakers on the House Education & Labor Committee called for hearings on rising unemployment and the evident failure of the Administration's economic recovery effort. Since the Administration's $787 billion ‘stimulus' bill passed in February, the national unemployment rate has risen from 7.6% to a 26-year high of 10.2%. Over the same period, the unemployment rate in Louisiana has risen from 5.7% to 7.4%.

Said Cassidy, "The American people were promised ‘immediate' job creation. Instead, they got more government and more debt."

"In addition to the unfocused ‘Stimulus' bill, American jobs are threatened by an $894 billion Cap & Trade energy tax and a $730 billion tax hike in the House Democrat's health care bill. Together, these tax hikes are predicted to kill roughly 9 million jobs. Tax and spend is not an economic recovery plan. It's a recipe for economic ruin."

"The Administration should reconsider its opposition to several alternatives offered by Republicans that will create jobs without burying the country in debt."

The letter reads:

The Honorable George Miller

Chairman

Committee on Education and Labor

2181 Rayburn House Office Building

Washington, D.C. 20515

Dear Chairman Miller:

This February, when the national unemployment rate was 7.6 percent, Congressional Democrats passed President Obama's $787 billion stimulus plan. At that time, Administration officials promised the President's stimulus bill would prevent unemployment from rising above 8 percent. Instead, just nine months later, the Department of Labor reports that unemployment has jumped to 10.2 percent, and more than 2.8 million American jobs have been lost. Clearly something went wrong.

Contributing to the lack of confidence in the efficacy of the so-called stimulus measure is erroneous jobs data recently posted on the recovery.gov website. Despite the dramatic spike in the unemployment rate, the Administration asserts that stimulus spending "created or saved" 640,000 jobs. Unfortunately, many of these alleged jobs are attributed to Congressional Districts that do not exist.

Numerous media reports and lawmakers have debunked the Administration's claims -- including Appropriations Committee Chairman David Obey, who stated, "The inaccuracies on recovery.gov that have come to light are outrageous and the Administration owes itself, the Congress, and every American a commitment to work night and day to correct the ludicrous mistakes."

In the midst of this confusion, Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis has been conspicuous in her absence. With the first year of the Obama Administration drawing to a close, Secretary Solis has yet to appear at a single hearing before the House Education and Labor Committee. We therefore call on you to schedule Secretary Solis for immediate testimony before the committee to address the rising rate of unemployment, the erroneous jobs data attributed to the President's stimulus plan, and the Administration's plans to address these problems.

Majority Leader Hoyer announced earlier this week that Democrats plan to move another stimulus bill through Congress by year's end. Before another taxpayer dollar is spent, Congress must demand accountability for the failure of the $787 billion already appropriated under the Obama stimulus plan to stem the tide of rising unemployment.

Sincerely,

Rep. Bill Cassidy, MD

Rep. Todd Platts

Rep. John Kline

Rep. Joe Wilson

Rep. Thomas Petri

Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers

Rep. Buck McKeon

Rep. Tom Price, MD

Rep. Pete Hoekstra

Rep. Rob Bishop

Rep. Mike Castle

Rep. Brett Guthrie

Rep. Mark Souder

Rep. Tom McClintock

Rep. Vern Ehlers

Rep. Duncan Hunter

Rep. Judy Biggert

Rep. Phil Roe, MD
Rep. Glenn Thompson

BACKGROUND:

Cassidy's economic agenda includes:

· The Economic Recovery and Middle-Class Tax Relief Act of 2009 (H.R. 470), an alternative stimulus package featuring broad and targeted tax relief designed to jumpstart consumer spending;

· The House Republican Economic Recovery Plan, an alternative economic stimulus proposal providing tax relief for working families, assistance to small businesses, aid for the uninsured, and measures to stabilize the housing market;

· The Savings Recovery Act (H.R. 2021), legislation to help restore and build savings through assistance for students, seniors, and families;

· The Responsible Homeowner Act (H.R. 1903), legislation aimed at rejuvenating the housing market through targeted incentives and homeowner assistance; and

· The No-Cost Stimulus Act (H.R. 1431), a plan to strengthen America's energy security, grow GDP by $10 trillion, and create an estimated 2 million jobs by repealing certain restrictions on the utilization of American energy resources.

Source