The Good News on Jobs Could Have Been Better

Floor Speech

Mrs. CAROLYN B. MALONEY of New York. Mr. Speaker, the good news is the June jobs report has been described by some as a ``blockbuster'' and a ``great success,'' but it could have been better.

In the June report, the economy added over 288,000 private sector jobs. That is five straight months in which 200,000 private sector jobs were added. This is the best performance since the boom years in the late 1990s.

The good news is that unemployment is down to pre-recession levels, but the bad news is that it could have been better.

Extending emergency unemployment benefits would have added another 200,000 jobs, according to the Congressional Budget Office. This, combined with the government shutdown, fights over the debt ceiling, governing by crisis, all prevented job growth from being even stronger.

Our economy has proved to be incredibly resilient. Imagine what we could do if 6 months from now we extended unemployment benefits; reauthorized the highway trust fund, which preserves another 700,000 jobs; and reauthorized the Export-Import Bank. All of this would create jobs.

Let's work together to create these jobs and pass these important programs.

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