Robert Hurt Statement On May Unemployment Report

Congressman Robert Hurt (R-VA) today released the following statement after the Department of Labor issued the May unemployment report, indicating that the national unemployment average rose to 8.2% last month:

“Month after month, the U.S. unemployment report provides firm evidence of what the people of Virginia’s 5^th District already know: federal government over-reach is stifling American job creation. The economic uncertainty felt in Central and Southside Virginia is a direct result of policies set forth in Washington which have perpetuated reckless federal spending, threatened higher taxes, caused fuel prices to nearly double, and strangled small businesses with more red tape. This all boils down to fewer jobs for 5th District Virginians at a time when we need them most.

“Today’s news, indicating a rise in the national unemployment rate from last month, clearly demonstrates that we are headed in the wrong direction. Since day one, the House has said that the Washington status-quo and the failed policies of the past will not put this country back on the right track. And despite the lack of leadership from the Senate and the President, we in the House remain committed to rejecting the status-quo that has lead us to nearly $16 trillion in debt and over 8% unemployment for more than 3 years. It is due time that the President and the Senate join with us in working on behalf of the American people in order to  remove the job-crushing red tape, abandon the reckless spending habits of the past, and remove the federal government as a barrier to job creation as we work to create more jobs for the people of the 5th District, not more red tape.”