09.05.14

Sessions: Under Obama, 13 Million More Adults But 7 Million Fewer Workers

WASHINGTON—U.S. Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL), Ranking Member of the Senate Budget Committee, issued the following statement today regarding the August jobs report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics:

“Today’s jobs report came in far below expectations. Twice as many people left the labor force last month as found jobs, and there are now 92.3 million people outside the workforce entirely. The number of workers in the labor force has fallen by more than 7 million since President Obama took office, even though the working-age population is 13.4 million larger. Nearly one in three African-American teenagers are unemployed. Median household income, adjusted for inflation, is down $2,300 since 2009.

Yet with millions of Americans out of work, the President persists in pushing a plan that would double the number of legal workers who can take any job throughout the economy. He further declares that he will issue executive actions to grant unilateral amnesty and work authorization to 5 million or more illegal immigrants. This is likewise stunningly bad policy, and is a violation of plain law and legitimate executive power. This idea has been rejected by Congress and the American people. The nation must focus directly on putting Americans and legal immigrants living here today to work, not unlawful workers.

To do so, we must pursue policies that create jobs without adding to the debt:

  • Produce more American energy;
  • Make the tax code more globally competitive;
  • Eliminate all costly and unnecessary regulations;
  • Turn the welfare office into a job training center;
  • Enforce our trade and immigration laws so our workers can compete fairly on the world stage;
  • And, finally balance the federal budget to restore economic confidence.”