Washington DC – Oregon’s Senator Jeff Merkley issued the following statement in response to today’s jobs report, which shows employers adding 162,000 new jobs in March, the most since 2007:
“Today’s hiring news is a sign that through hard work and determination, American families and small businesses are gradually pulling out of this recession.
“However, the fact that many states, including Oregon, still have an unemployment rate of over 10 percent demonstrates the steep challenge we still face.
“The damaged state of our economy requires swift action on two fronts.
“First, President Obama and Congress need to make job creation the number one priority. One strategy that I’ll continue to push forward is a bipartisan bill to put Americans back to work by helping families finance energy-saving home renovations while lowering monthly bills and saving energy. I’m also working with my colleagues on a bill I introduced last year to double the deduction that new small businesses can take. The House of Representatives included a similar idea in their recently introduced small business jobs bill and I hope to see that idea in a Senate bill as well.”
“Second, we have to crack down on the bad bets of the big banks on Wall Street. I’m going to continue pushing for Wall Street reform that removes high-risk trading from major banks and ensures taxpayers are never again forced to bail out Wall Street CEOs.
“It is critical that, in coming months, we can come together and continue growing our economy so it can work for working families once again.”
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