Lankford: Americans Want Jobs; Federal Regulations Don't Help

Press Release

Representative James Lankford (R-Okla.) issued the following statement today after the U.S. Department of Commerce announced the American economy declined by one percent in the first quarter of 2014:

"This Administration's stranglehold of American business continues to keep the American economy in overall stagnation and decline. President Obama believes he knows how to run American businesses better than business owners. The President's insistence on central control of healthcare, banking and insurance have led hardworking, entrepreneurial Americans to scale back their investments in fear of the next ridiculous policy to come out of this Administration. These policies are slowing the economy, hampering our recovery and draining jobs. Americans are demanding jobs, not federal handouts and overregulation of private job creators. Let's ease regulations on North American energy, encourage small businesses growth and empower American technological innovation, instead of writing new regulations that destroy American job opportunities."

The Bureau of Economic Analysis report summarized the quarter's economic downturn causes in the report: "The downturn in the percent change in real GDP primarily reflected a downturn in exports; a larger decrease in private inventory investment and downturns in nonresidential fixed investment and in state and local government spending that were partly offset by an upturn in federal government spending." According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the national unemployment rate sits at 6.3% in April 2014, up from 4.5% in 2007.

Source