GOP Leaders Downplay Dip In Jobless Rate

House GOP leaders downplayed the dip in the nation’s unemployment rate from 9 percent to 8.6 percent Friday morning, the lowest recorded rate in nearly three years.

“Today’s unemployment numbers certainly look good on its surface,” House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) said at a Friday press conference. “If you look at the number of new jobs created, there’s just not enough new jobs being created in America.”

According to the latest unemployment numbers, the economy added 120,000 jobs in November. Despite seeing jobs totals reach at least 100,000 in the past three months - September numbers were revised showing 210,000 new jobs were added, an uptick of 52,000 from the initial report - House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) voiced his concern over the period of time in which the jobless rate has remained above 8 percent. 

“The jobless rate in our country is still unacceptably high, Boehner said. “Today marks the 34th consecutive month of unemployment above eight percent.”

Though Republican leaders welcomed the dip in the unemployment rate as “good news,” they remained skeptical of Obama’s economic agenda. Boehner used the opportunity to call on President Obama and the Democratic-controlled Senate to take up 25 House-passed bills, all of which are considered job creators by House Republicans.

“It is time for the president to admit, after being able to enact all the major tenants of his agenda… that ultimately his policies are not working,” Rep. Jeb Hensarling (R-Texas) said. “We would ask Mr. President to please asks Mr. Reid to pass our jobs bills.”

Boehner Looks To Obama To Help Curb Sequester

Following the collapse of super committee negotiations, House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) is looking to the Commander-in-Chief to help curb automatic cuts in military spending. 

Though President Obama has already threatened to veto any bill that aims to soften the impact the nation’s defense budget, Boehner continued Thursday to push for curbed sequestration, citing repeated warnings from Defense Secretary Leon Panetta over the detrimental effects cuts would have on the Pentagon. 

“I really believe the president has some responsibilities here as well,” Boehner told reporters. “He is the Commander-in-Chief, he knows what those cuts will mean to the military.”

Boehner, who agreed to the across-the-board cuts when negotiating with Obama on increasing the debt ceiling, is facing growing pressure from his own conference to curb defense cuts. 

“There are a lot of members who are concerned about the defense cuts,” he said. “I understand the concern, but the president is the Commander-in-Chief… I believe there’s a role he plays in this process as well.”

Boehner Challenges Obama To 'Take Yes For An Answer'

By Andrea Salazar

Following the Senate’s rejection of President Obama’s American Jobs Act and the recent approval of three key trade agreements, the Speaker of the House is asking the president to find common ground with congressional Republicans.

“It’s time for the White House to stop the campaigning and start listening and working with bipartisan members of Congress to do what the American people expect of us - find common ground and move ahead,” said House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) at a Thursday press conference.

The House Speaker also argued that passing the free-trade agreements with Colombia, Panama and South Korea, coupled with the House’s work to repeal the 3 percent withholding tax on federal contracts are testament to the amount of collaboration going on in Congress. Boehner called on Obama to work with Congress get Americans back to work. 

“I would tell… and challenge the president to take ‘yes’ for an answer,” Boehner said.

Unemployment Rate Unwavered By Uptick In Jobs Numbers

The United States exceeded economists’ expectations by adding 103,000 jobs to the nation’s workforce in September, but the uptick did little to shake an idle unemployment rate as it sits unchanged at 9.1 percent, according to the Labor Department.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics credits the expansion in employment to the 45,000 disgruntled Verizon employees previously on strike who have returned to work, accounting for nearly half of all job creation last month.

RNC Chair Reince Priebus took the opportunity to blast the president’s jobs bill, calling it “Stimulus 2.0” and denouncing its touted potential impact on the country’s economy.

“Today’s disappointing jobs report underscores why President Obama’s Stimulus 2.0 is not the answer to put Americans back to work. After putting $825 billion on the nation’s credit card only to have 32 straight months of unemployment at 8 percent or above, it is remarkable that the President would double down on the same policies at the tune of nearly half a trillion dollars in more ‘stimulus’ spending,” said Priebus.

House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) was even less than enthusiastic about September’s “sad numbers” saying Democrats “need to stop campaigning, start listening and start working,” a likely rollover from Thursday’s Obama’s-thrown-in-the-towel jab.

“Our unemployment rate has been higher than eight percent for more than two-and-a-half years, far above what [Obama] promised with the ‘stimulus,’” Boehner said in a statement.

Katherine Abraham, a member of Obama’s Council of Economic Advisers, also acknowledged that the stagnant 9.1 percent unemployment rate was “unacceptably high” and promoted the American Jobs Act as a means to expedite the economic recovery process.

“Clearly, we need faster economic growth to put Americans back to work,” Abraham said, but she reminded that September’s jobs numbers be taken with a grain of salt.

“The monthly employment and unemployment numbers are volatile and employment estimates are subject to substantial revision,” she said. “Therefore, as the Administration always stresses, it is important not to read too much into any one monthly report.”

Ohio Democrat Promotes China Currency Measure

By Andrea Salazar

Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), described his Chinese currency manipulation bill as the most important jobs bill in Congress this year.

“China manipulates its currency so Chinese companies can make and sell Chinese products cheaper, much cheaper than U.S. companies can,” Brown said during a conference call with reporters on Wednesday.

To change that, Brown introduced the Currency Exchange Rate Oversight Bill with co-sponsors from both parties. Pointing out that U.S. workers are losing their jobs to China, Brown said that “Uncle Sam’s turned into Uncle Sap, and it’s time we fight back.” 

A vote is expected in the Senate within the next week.  

“This bill doesn’t cost tax payer dollars, it actually will help reduce the budget deficit. So other than those who want to stand with companies that outsource jobs to China, I don’t see where any real opposition to this bill should come from,” Brown said. 

However, Speaker of the House John Boehner (R-Ohio) dismissed the need for the bill.

“I think its pretty dangerous to be moving legislation through the United States Congress forcing someone to deal with the value of their currency,” he said earlier this week.