CAMP: “Unfortunately, Mr. Vice President, your prediction that we had ‘hit bottom’ missed the mark.”

Washington, DC – The official jobs data release today shows the unemployment rate rose to 10.2 percent as 190,000 more jobs were eliminated last month.  Since Democrats’ failed stimulus law took effect in February 2009, a total of 2.8 million jobs have been eliminated.  This, however, did not keep Vice President Joe Biden from stating in a November 1, 2009, interview that he was “confident we’ve hit bottom.”  

“Unfortunately, Mr. Vice President, your prediction that we had ‘hit bottom’ missed the mark,” said Ways and Means Ranking Member Dave Camp (R-MI) in reaction to the jobs report.  “Nine months after the $1 trillion stimulus bill Americans are still asking: where are the jobs?  If the Democrats pass their health care bill and the $750 billion in taxes it contains, we could stand to lose millions more American jobs.”

Before stimulus passed, Democrats claimed that, if Congress passed their plan, unemployment wouldn’t exceed 8 percent and 3.5 million jobs would be created through 2010.  As the unemployment rate has risen to 10.2 percent, Democrats – including Vice President Biden – have attempted to take credit for “less bad” monthly job destruction figures.  But as one expert recently noted “It doesn’t say a lot to people to say, you know, there would have been a million more, or a 1.6 million more jobs lost, but for this.”  That expert?  Vice President Biden, in his November 1, 2009 interview.

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