Talk Radio News Service: News, Politics, Media

By Sofia Sanchez -University of New Mexico/Talk Radio News Service

While the White House says last month's 'snowpocalypse' helped keep the nation's unemployment rate at nearly 10%, a Republican from Texas attributed the numbers on Friday to a "blizzard of bad policy proposals."

“The administration attempted to spin these numbers as a result of storms in the northeast, but in truth it is a blizzard of bad policy proposals, higher taxes, health care mandates [and] dangerous levels of debt that is the real reason businesses are delaying key investments in hiring,” said Rep. Kevin Brady (R-Texas), during a Joint Economic Committee hearing on the newly-released statistics.

Brady's remarks disputed those of White House Council of Economic Advisers Chair Dr. Christina Romer, who said Friday that the snow did play a factor in keeping businesses from operating, and people from working.

“As many analysts have discussed in recent weeks, the large snowstorms in the Mid-Atlantic region in mid-February likely had a substantial negative impact in this number,” she said.

In a statement released Friday, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) agreed with Romer's assessment.

“It’s widely acknowledged that this number [36,000] would have been better except for the snowstorms that hit the Northeast last month."

Administration officials and Democrats in Congress contend that the weather forced individuals to miss work, thereby keeping them off monthly payrolls. Brady, however, said he doesn't buy that argument.

“I know the President and Congress are well-intentioned in all these efforts [to restore jobs], but I am puzzled by the President's economic approach. I don’t know what you call it, maybe ‘Blame-onomics?'"