“Where Are The Jobs?” Economic Roundtable

ust hours before the White House “jobs summit”, House Republicans convened a roundtable with leading economists to discuss job-threatening policies moving through Congress that are creating uncertainty for small businesses, the engine of job creation in America. Following are remarks by House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-OH) kicking off the economic roundtable, as prepared for delivery:

“Later today, the White House will host a ‘jobs summit.’ But we’re going to discuss the issues that Washington Democrats won’t talk about. Unemployment is now 10.2 percent, and more than three million Americans have lost their jobs since the ‘stimulus’ was enacted. As a former small-businessman, I know what it takes to meet a payroll, and I can tell you that the White House’s agenda will cost even more jobs. A government takeover of health care, a new national energy tax, more tax increases, and ‘card check’ – they all kill jobs. None of the senior people at the White House has ever run a business. They just don’t get it. The American people are asking, ‘where are the jobs?’ but all they are getting from Washington Democrats is more spending, more debt, and more policies that hurt small businesses. I look forward to hearing from the experts here today, and I hope their advice will be just as welcome at the other end of Pennsylvania Ave.”