John Boehner 8TH DISCTRICT OF OHIO

When President Obama signed the ‘stimulus’ into law nearly three years ago, he did so backed by his Administration’s promise that it would keep the unemployment rate below eight percent.  In the same month, he pledged to cut the deficit in half, saying he refused “to leave our children with a debt that they cannot repay -- and that means taking responsibility right now, in this administration, for getting our spending under control.”  Unfortunately, President Obama and Washington Democrats have failed to live up to their promises, piling more debt on future generations, and making it harder for the economy to create jobs.  Here’s a look at the Obama Administration’s real economic record:

Persistently High Unemployment & Fewer American Jobs:

• 13.3 Million: Number of Unemployed Americans. (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 12/2/11)

• 34: Historic Number of Consecutive Months the Unemployment Rate Has Been Above Eight Percent. (Bureau of Labor Statistics, Accessed 12/27/11)

• 1,547,000: Number of Jobs Lost Since President Obama Took Office. (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 12/2/11)

• 9.4%: Average Unemployment Rate Since the ‘Stimulus’ was Signed Into Law. (Bureau of Labor Statistics, Accessed 12/27/11)

• 315,000: Number of Discouraged Americans Who Left the Labor Force in November. (Bloomberg, 12/2/11)

• 41: Average Number of Weeks Unemployed Americans Are Out of Work. (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 12/2/11)

• 43%: Percent of Unemployed Americans Who Have Been Out of Work for 27 Weeks or More. (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 12/2/11)

More Debt & Record-Breaking Deficits:

• $15.130 Trillion: The National Debt as of December 29, 2011. (U.S. Treasury Department, Accessed 12/29/11) 

• $4.5 Trillion: Amount That Has Been Added to the National Debt Since President Obama Took Office. (U.S. Treasury Department, Accessed 12/29/11) 

• During President Obama’s Time in Office, Washington Has Racked Up the Three Largest Deficits in U.S. History. (Congressional Budget Office, 11/7/11)

• 99.7%: Current Federal Debt as a Share of GDP. (U.S. Treasury Department, Accessed 12/29/11; Bureau of Economic Analysis, 12/22/11)

• 25%: Increase in Non-Defense Discretionary Spending by President Obama When Democrats Controlled both Houses of Congress. (House Budget Committee, 2/3/11)

• $48,376: Every American’s Share of the National Debt. (U.S. Treasury Department, Accessed 12/29/11; U.S. Census Bureau, Accessed 12/29/11)

With the New Year just days away, there are a few resolutions Washington Democrats owe the American people: less debt, more jobs, and fewer burdens on small businesses.  As The Weekly Standard’s Yuval Levin noted recently, House Republicans have taken meaningful steps “to restrain the growth of government, cut spending, reform how Congress works, and end the uncertainty in the economy to help get Americans back to work.”  The Republican-led House will move that effort forward in 2012 by continuing to implement the Plan for America’s Job Creators, a framework built on the Pledge to America and designed to create a better environment for private-sector job growth.  It is up to President Obama to urge Senate Democrats to pass more than 25 bipartisan, House-passed jobs bills that are languishing on their doorstep.  Americans cannot afford another year of broken promises and failed policies.