WASHINGTON, DC—Today, U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) chaired a hearing of the Joint Economic Committee on the newly released employment figures for February from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Senator Casey’s opening statement is below.
Opening Statement of
U.S. Senator Bob Casey
Joint Economic Committee
March 5, 2010
Even though the national unemployment rate remains too high at 9.7%, as does the Pennsylvania unemployment rate of 8.8%, we are moving in a better direction than we were a year ago.
In February 2009, the United States lost 726,000 jobs. That number is significantly higher than 36,000 jobs lost last month. Similarly, 779,000 jobs were lost in January 2009 compared with 26,000 jobs lost in January of this year.
One of the reasons for the drastic decrease in the number of jobs lost is because of the Recovery Act that was passed in February of 2009.
Nationally, the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office reported last week that the Recovery Act added between 1 million and 2.1 million jobs by the fourth quarter of 2009, and raised economic growth by 1.5 percent to 3.5 percent over that period. CBO Director Douglas Elmendorf said during a prior Joint Economic Committee hearing that: “The policies that were enacted in the bill are increasing GDP and employment relative to what it otherwise would be.”
However, we are not out of the woods yet. Congress must continue to pass legislation that will create jobs and ensure our economic revival.
Last week, the Senate passed the HIRE Act (Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment). This act contained four major policies to spur economic growth: (1) payroll tax holiday for the hiring of new employees; (2) Build American Bonds; (3) Extension of the Highway Trust Fund; and (4) Small Businesses the ability to write-off certain expenditures.
Currently, the Senate is debating the American Worker, State, and Business Relief Act. Upon passage, I hope this piece of legislation will provide the following: (1) energy efficient tax credits that spur job creation and promote renewable energy; (2) tax credits for businesses that will free up cash flow and enable them to expand and hire; (3) and the extension of important safety net programs, such as Unemployment Insurance and COBRA Premium Assistance Program.
Over the next several months, I hope the Senate continues to pass policies that will create jobs in Pennsylvania and throughout the country.
###
