no response from the senate. and i would ask the gentleman if he could please direct his urgency towards the majority leader in the senate to see if we can get this off the dime and resolve the issue of the payroll tax so that we can, as the gentleman suggests, send a very certain signal to the people who are struggling out there working day in and day out that their taxes will not go up. and as for the gentleman's suggestion about the job numbers, i don't know if you saw my public statement this morning, but i said that was welcomed news. when you have job creation like that, it is welcome news but we can do pwher -- better. i was pleased to see the president said he wants to be a champion of small business. we say we are happy to work with this white house so we can provide the help to small businesses we will be bringing to the floor before tax day a small business tax cut bill that

goes at the issue of helping small business people and allowing them more incentive to invest their capital so they can create jobs and we can see this economy really take off. i yield. >> i thank the gentleman for his comments. we have long been a supporter of small business. we believe small business is the engine of our economy. we believe we need to grow entrepreneurs and expand small business and the middle class. it was interesting what the gentleman referred to in my question. yes, we understand that cutting the pay of average working who happen to be federal employees but average working americans is the way you want to pay for what we do. we want to pay for it with some of the wealthiest people in our country just contributing a little bit more as owe poeppose

average working people who are struggling and the sponsor to the legislation indicated he was having a tough time getting by supporting his family on the salary makes here in congress. frankly, we offered, as you know, to have a vote on freezing members of congressionalry straight up, not hidden in another bill but straight up, which i would have supported. my side would have supported it overwhelmingly. i assume your side would have it overwhelmingly. we didn't get that opportunity because our priorities difficult. average working people as opposed to the best off in america. that is the choice in this conference committee apparently because you want to pay for it with an average working people taking a hit and we want to pay for it by just asking just a little more from the wealthiest in america to help us through this tough patch we are in.

things are getting better. i haven't seen the release but i will look at his release. he says we ought to do better. i will tell the gentleman we are doing a lot better. the gentleman knows during the last five months of the burks we lost 3,192,000 jobs. the gentleman smiles because, oh, that is history. it is history and we all learned from it because we were following the economic policies of the gentleman still presses the american people. we lost 3 million jobs in five months. in the last five months we have gained over 1 million jobs. that is progress. over the last 22 months we've gained over 3 million jobs. so, we are making significant progress.

not enough. we dug a very deep hole. but losing 3 million jobs in five months and gaining 1 million jobs in five months is about a 4-million job difference. so i tell my friend in terms of who ought to pay for the we have agreed we need to make, we don't want to raise taxes on these folks as the economy is coming back, showing great progress. but we don't want to pay for it with average working people having to pay the price. i will tell my friend i was disappointed that we didn't have a separate vote so members of congress could vote straight up on their being frozen. i will tell my friend i will work on with him perhaps towards that end. having said that, is the

gentleman expecting -- i'm sure he has been in conversation with mr. camp. is the gentleman expecting a relatively early report back committee, ference hopefully prior to the 18th of february? >> let me respond, if you yield. >> i yield. >> i would say to the gentleman first of all i do hope that we can act in an expeditious manner to accomplish the same goal that he stated that i agree with. we need to let the people of this country know they are not going to have their taxes go up and we should allow for the certainty for a full year. the position is how from the beginning. i would say to the gentleman about his assertions of our policies and those under the last president and perhaps their effect on job creation or job loss, the issue is right now and

my question to the gentleman is as far as that is concerned, doesn't he agree that we could be doing better? and that is my point, mr. speaker. we can do better. we can do better by focusing on the private sector small businessmen and women so that we can empower them to begin to invest in great jobs again. that is what we intend to do straight up through policies that affect reduction of red tape in this town, to make it easier for small businessmen and women to operate, a bill to be brought forward to provide for 20% tax cuts for small businesses. i hope if the gentleman sayses for small businesses he will engine us in a bipartisan way to support a bill that provides for a 20% tax cut for small businesses. now, i would ask the gentleman as well, he tense to advocate --

continues to advocate higher taxes for people. higher taxes on people who make a lot of money. the result is putting more money into this town, putting more money into the hands of washington so that washington can decide where people's money is spent. we know we have spending problems and raising taxes doesn't dig us out of the hole. i ask the gentleman, does he think that is going to fix the problem? it is not as if we are saying we don't want to help the people struggling. i'm looking forward to working with him in a bipartisan way to get resolution. >> i thank the gentleman and we look forward to working together in a bipartisan way. we have found a great difficulty doing it because we have trouble having a meeting of the minds. i will tell my friend that what i advocate over and over and over again is paying for what we

buy. that is what i advocate. and if you don't want it, don't buy it. you controlled the town for eight years. i know we were in charge of congress the last two years. we couldn't pass anything over george bush's veto. eight years we didn't pay for what we bought and we went from surplus to a deficit. we went from a debt of 5.6 to a didn't of almost 11. have we added to the debt? yes. because we went into the deepest depression starting in 2007 that this country has been in your lifetime and my lifetime and i'm a lot older than you. so, i advocate paying for what we buy and having the courage to make decisions on doing exactly that. frankly, on your side of the aisle, when you go and say we need to pay for elections you go to your members and people who

have some resources that they can contribute to an effort you think is very important. i think america's efforts are very important. i think those of us who have done better ought to pay a little more than those who are as the gentleman refers to. yes, that is the difference. i believe that is the difference and i will continue to advocate paying for what we buy. that is why i was for statutory pay-go which george bush abandoned and which essentially is not being followed today as i think all of us should do. so i will tell my friend that i think we ought to do better. i agree with you. and we did do better. we did do better under policies that i supported. 22 million jobs in the 1990's. we lost jobs in the 2000's. we went backwards. the stock market went up 216% in the 1960's. under george bush it went did

you know 26%. yes, i think we can do better. we ought to do better. we ought to do better by investing. i talked about investing. let me talk about a became the speaker talked about, you talked about, transportation infrastructure committee marked up a controversial highway bill. the gentleman says we want to work together. i agree with that. we tried to do that. they marked up yesterday 17 hou hours, finished around 3:00 a.m. at the start of that debate i don't know whether the gentleman knows the ranking member asked all the members of the committee to raise their hand if they read the bill. do you know how many raised their hand? question hesitate corresporhetl but none. an 800-page bill. not a person raised their hand.

there was a lot of discussion about reading the bill. reading the bill. if they had read this bill, there was a bipartisan no vote one senior member voted against it. this is in stark contrast to the unanimous vote in the united states senate on the bill. the committee on natural resources completed a controversial mark-up on the opening anwar drilling. with the clear knowledge that that is a very controversial item that will not pass the united states senate. you may have the votes here. that is similar to what happened on the payroll tax cut just last december. if you are going to work, work in a bipartisan basis, we ought to understand we are going to have to not push on one party on the other things that are unacceptable and won't pass and don't have the votes. the reason that george bush

signed so many bills we passed in the congress in 2009 and 2010 was because we worked with the administration and worked with the senate. the senate and house controlled by democrats, president bush in office. he signed more than twice as many bills that we passed. why? because we worked with him. we would urge you to do the same. is the gentleman planning to bring up the infrastructure bill soon and will it be considered in an open process and does he expect bipartisan cooperation on the infrastructure package so we don't have to go up gaps another deadline. as the gentleman knows, march 31 the highway bill authorization ends. we temporarily included it. let me ends where this before you answer. ray lahood was a leader in this congress. was a leader on your side of the aisle. together a long time.

i don't know if you have seen his quote but it bears consideration by your side of the aisle of a republican from middle america, peoria, who your minority leader had as his chief of staff. here is what he said about the was structure bill that marked up. this is the most partisan transportation bill that i have ever seen. and it is also the most antisafety bill i have season. hat is a direct quote from ray lahood, former member of this house and former chief of staff to the minority leader. it hollows out our number one priority, which is safety. ray lahood said, frankly, it hollows out the guts of the transportation efforts that we been about the last three years. it is the worse transportation bill i have ever seen during my

35 years of public service. ray lahood, politico, february 3, just a few days ago -- actually that is today. he said it today, in real time. this is real breaking news from the majority leader. the worst transportation bill he has seen in 35 years. that does tphnot bode well for bipartisan cooperation on a piece of legislation. that nobody in the committee had read. so, i ask my friend, do we expect to bring that bill up under those conditions in the near term? i yield to my friends. >> i thank the gentleman. mr. speaker, first of all we expect a vote on the bill the week of the 13th. i think there will be adequate time for members to review the bill to the gentleman's concern about the concern in the committee.

that is why we're allowing for the time so that members can review such a big bill, a bill that means so many jobs to so many americans. and i hope the gentleman will come true to his true nature which is bipartisan and to work with us. it is american energy infrastructures and jobs is just that, a jobs bill. a bill that can provide certainty to our contractors, to our communities so we can start to grow again and see jobs proliferate. but i find it ironic that the gentleman complains about paying for it because he talks about the way that -- wanting to open up our resources. our resources offshore. our resources in anwar. an attempt to allow america to develop a national energy policy and promote jobs. the gentleman knows the energy

sector provides an awful lot of jobs in plant of parts of the country and can do more and is willing. private capital willing to deploy to create jobs. but i find it also ironic, mr. speaker, that the gentleman chance that there is no bipartisanship because we are not working with the administration. the administration has been on all of this. they are not interested in working with us to create a product where we can see jobs created. as you can see, the secretary sits in his office and opines and attacks the bill saying it is all the negative things that he said. that is not a way to collaborate and work together. the gentleman knows that as well. the gentleman knows that is certainly not how things have worked in this town if you want to produce a result. so, the gentleman can claim the mantle of wanting to work together and the administration

is being trampled by some action here. he knows good and well that this administration has been absent in so many of the discussions on so many important issues. and the fact that we difficult on policy, yes. but the gentleman also knows that room people can disagree. but that do not mean we can't work together to find some things that we agree on. and certainly we agree on jobs. the gentleman says we agree on small business. i'm looking for his support of that small business tax credit bill. and we agree on infrastructure spending being an important part of our economy. i'm looking forward into the next week as the bill works its way to the floor to hopefully garner his support. >> i thank the gentleman. wonderful, wonderful logic. a republican leader in this house is appointed to include

bipartisan as we have been on transportation infrastructure as secretary of transportation, who was a leader in this house, and the chief of staff of the minority leader of this house says that the bill you have drafted that your members didn't read before they passed out of committee and i'm sure the public is glad well read it before we pass it. i hope that is the case. nobody read it before they passed it out of committee. and a republican secretary of transportation, former chief of staff of the minority leader, says, my friend, it is the most partisan bill he has ever seen in 35 years. and then you say, well, i know we passed the most partisan bill in 35 years but, gee, the administration won't work with us. you don't accept that premise, i understand that. but it is ironic that you say the administration won't work

with you. we both know ray lahood is one of the more bipartisan people we've served w. i have worked frequently with congressman lahood when he represented why.rt we worked together on a lot of issues because he wanted to get things done. he was not just interested in making political points. you bring up anwar. i'm for paying for this. you didn't hear me say anything about offshore drilling. i did about anwar because we both know in a bipartisan way many of your members had voted gaps opening up anwar and we have, as the gentleman knows, millions of acres currently available for drilling in alaska right now as we speak. so, we want to have a biparti n bipartisan. out an 800-passenger bill on the table -- 8--page

bill no chance to read it, passed in a marathon situation and if you tell me ray lahood won't work with republicans i do not subpoena that premise. i think that is an absolute -- that is a disservice to ray lahood. he is the secretary of transportation. and there is no doubt in my mind, none, zero, that if mr. michael wants to work with ray lahood on a bipartisan people, mr. lahood will be here as many hours, days and weeks as mr. michael needs him and i hope you would agree with that. ray lahood is a republican but a bipartisan american who wants to get things done for our country and create those jobs of which you speak which all of us want to do. we have a jobs bill by the way that you have not brought to the floor. what is one aspect of it? infrastructu

infrastructure, investing in infrastructure. that has languished for five mont months, not brought to the floor by the majority leader who has the authority to do so and i have been urging him to do so. if he wants to comment on what i said, i will yield. >> absolutely, mr. speaker. i join the gentleman in thinking secretary lahood is a feign gentleman. but all i can say is actions speak louder than words and whether we're bringing the whole bill up for a vote i would ask how many members on his side have sponsored 2tha bill? i think there is certainly many elements of that bill that we can all agree on. in fact, we have voted on four separate elements, beg elements, of the president's small business agenda that he announced this week. crowd funding, many offerings to

help small business access financing, a bill to provide for 100% depreciation, provisions that will allow for more ability for small business go to the bottom line so income grow and a bill we passed out of this house to eliminate tax for highly skilled workers. all of these the house pass and they sit on the other side of the capitol. so, i would say to the gentleman he knows as well as i do that more stimulus spending is part of that president's proposal is something we don't accept. but there is plenty week agree on. back to the notion of bipartisanship let's set aside differences and find out where we can agree. i would say to the gentleman please work with us, please

point to the majority leader and say bring the bills up. these are jobs bills. the president said so this week. i yield become. the gentleman knows that a number of those proposals had bipartisan support in this house. i think they had bipartisan support in the senate. but they need to be paid for. that is where the contention comes as the gentleman knows. let me ask you on another subject if i might, the stock act. before i do that, i appreciate the gentleman's observation with respect to those bills that the president has suggested we do that we have done. >> if the gentleman could yield for a correction there is no need for pay fors on these. they were cleared out of the house in a revenue neutral way. >> the individual bills, you are right. >> so the gentleman is correct in saying there is bipartisan support for them. the president supports them.

where is the problem? it is across the hallway. we could get the majority leader there to move them and we could make progress. >> we can make some progress if the majority leader could get 60 votes to enact legislation and transact business on the floor of the senate. unfortunately as the gentleman knows, the majority leader harry reid has had great difficulty getting 60 votes to proceed with business on the floor of the house of the senate. i think that is unfortunate. let me move on because the gentleman went from infrastructure bill, which secretary lahood said was the most partisan bill he has seen in 35 years, shifted to jobs on which we agreed. i want to talk about another piece of legislation the senate worked on. we have a bill here we have asked it be taken from the floor, from the desk and put on the floor and that is the stock

act. the gentleman expressed support for that. i'm hopeful we could pass a house bill and go to conference with the senate on a bill in the center future. can the gentleman comment on that? >> if the gentleman yields, it has always been my intention to act with dispatch on this very important issue and get the president a bill that he can sign as quickly as possible. the underlying notion is, as the gentleman believes, we need to make sure that the people that send us here know that we are acting and abiding by the trust that they place in us. that is what the stock act is about. what we are going to do next week is we're going to act with dispatch. going to take up the senate bill. we are currently reviewing the actions the senate to go on the bill and we intend to strengthen

the bill in a way that can get a bill to the president's desk as quickly as possible so there is no misunderstanding on the part of the people that send us here that they can have trust in this institution and members and there is no perception whatsoever that anyone here misuses information that they gain in the performance of their duties for their own personal benefit. >> he says the earliest date possible, i tell my friend tim walls of minnesota has had a bill of the stock act, also louise slaughter has worked on for literally a decade or more. so we've legislation which is available to take frankly from the desk, pass that and go immediately to conference with the senate. the gentleman indicates he wants to change the senate bill. i think that may be appropriate. but if he does, we are going to have to go to conference in any

want so my suggestion is you take tim walz' bill and we go to conference on that. that is the most, dish -- most way to accomplish what you want to. i think tim walz of minnesota be happy to hear that and would work toward that end along with law waste -- l louise slaughter. >> when he was the house majority leader he didn't bring this stock act to the floor and it was a submitted bill. so, let's set the record straight. this majority leader is going to bill, a stock act bill, to the floor next week. i would also say mr. walz's bill would weaken the senate bill and it is our intention to pass and

get to the president a workable, strong bill that makes sure we are delivering on the promise that we made to the people that september us here. i know the gentleman wants to join me in the effort to reinstill the confidence in the public that we are abiding by that trust. i yield back. >> i think all of us agree with what the leader said. we want to make sure the american public has confidence in the actions we take and are not driven by personal interest but public interest and concern for the people we represent. with that i will yield become the balance of my time. >> the u.s. labor department reported 243,000 new jobs were added in january dropping the unemployment rate to 8.3%. now remarks from president obama on that report. he also unveiled his veterans jobs plan.

the president spoke at fire station number 5 in arlington, virginia. this is about 20 minutes. >> thank you, thank you guys. thank you so much. everybody please have a seat. good morning, everybody. >> good morning. >> jacob, thank you for that introduction. more importantly, thank you for your extraordinary service to our country. i want to acknowledge two outstanding members of my cabinet who are here. secretary of veterans affairs is in the house and one of our finest veterans.

obviously an extraordinary leader when he was in our army. i also want to acknowledge the interior secretary ken salazar, who is in the house. [applause] >> we are going by another president, international association of firefighters president is here. [applause] >> this is a fire station that holds some special significance for our country. on september 11, the firefighters in this house were among the first to respond to the attack on the pentagon. you guys answered this nation's call during its hour of need. in the years that followed, as americans went to war, some of you answered that call as well.

tod today's 9/11 generation of veterans has earned a special place. veterans and all the brave men and women who serve our country are the reason why america's military is the greatest in the history of the world. in the face of great odds and danger they get the job done. they work as a team. they personify the best that to offer.s that is true on the ballot fr t front, but we are here today because it is also true on the home front. after a decade of war, our nation needs to do some building right here in the united states of america. this morning we received more good news about our economy. in january american businesses

added another 257,000 jobs. the unemployment rate came down because more people found work. all together we have added 3.7 million new jobs the last 23 months. now, these numbers will go up and down in the coming months and there are still far too many americans who need a job or need a job where the pay is better than what they have now. but the economy is growing stronger. the recovery is speeding up. we have to do everything in our power to keep it going. we can't go back to the policies that led to the recession, and we can't let washington stand in the way of our recovery. we want washington to be helping with the recovery, not making it

tougher. the most important thing congress needs to do right now is stop taxes from going up on 160 million americans at the end of this month. they have to renew the payroll tax cut they extended for only a months.f they need to pass an extension of the payroll tax cut and unemployment insurance and do it without drama, without delay. without linking it to some idea logical -- ideological side issues. just get it done. is not the time for self-inflicted wounds to our economy. now is the time for action. so, i want to accepted a clear message to congress. do not slow did you know the recovery we are -- do not slow down the recovery we are on. don't muck it up. keep it moving in the right direction. [applause] >> beyond preventing a tax hike we need to do more to create an

economy that is built to last. we need to stop giving tax breaks to companies that ship jobs overseas but give them to companies that are investing in plants and equipment and hearing in the united states of america. that makes a lot of sense. to reduce our dependence on fortune oil. we need to stop subsidizing companies that are making record profits and double down on clean energy that creates jobs and opportunities and new industries also improves our security because we are not as dependent on foreign oil. make sure our businesses don't have to move overseas to find skilled workers we have to invest in education to make sure college is affordable for every hard working american. and there is a reason we are here today. we need to make sure that as our troops return from battle they can find a job when they get

home. that is what i want to talk about today. [applause] >> the war in iraq is over. the war in afghanistan is moving to a new phase where we're transitioning to afghan leaders. over the past decade nearly three million service members have transitioned back to civilian life and more are joining them every day. when they come home they bring unparalleled skills and experience. folks like that have saved lives in some of the toughest conditions available. moved convoys and tons of equipment over dangerous terrain, tracked millions of dollars of military assets, handled pieces of equipment that are worth tens of millions of

dollars. they do incredible work. nobody is more skilled, more preci precise, more detail -- more detail genetic, more disciplined. they are some of the most highly skilled workers we have. they are americans that every business should be competing to attract. they are americans we want to keep serving here at home as we rebuild this country. we are going to do everything to make sure when our troops come home they come home to new jobs, new opportunities and new ways to serve their country. this has been a top priority of mine since i came into office. already we have helped 600,000 go back rapbs -- veterans to school on the g.i. bill. we have hired over 120,000 veterans to serve in the federal

government. we have made it easier for them to access all sorts of employment services. we have set up online tools to connect veterans with job openings that match their skills. have le and joe biden worked with the private sector with businesses to secure a pledge of 135,000 jobs for veterans and their families. and with the support of democrats and republicans we put in place two new tax credits for companies that hire veterans. these are all important steps. we have made progress, but there is more we can do. in my state of the union address i proposed the veterans job corps to put veterans back to work protecting and rebuilding america. today aware laying out the details -- we are laying out the details of this proposal. first, we want to help the

more veterans as cops and firefighters. you have seen what a great job jacob is doing. there are a whole bunch of folks like that who could be doing the same work crass the country. but it is not that easy to get a job in a firehouse. the past few years tight budgets have forced a lot of states and local communities to lay off a lot of first responders. my administration, when i first came into office one of the first things we did is through the recovery act make sure that states and local governments help helped, or got the help they needed to prevent some of these layoffs and thousands of jobs were saved. harold and i were talking as we came over. thousands of firefighter jobs were saved because of the actions we took. but budgets are still tight. that is a problem we need to

fix. jobs that protect our families and communities shouldn't be the first on the chopping black. they should be one of the highest priorities as a nation. the past three years, my administration has made it possible for states to keep thousands of first responders on the job. but today we are announcing that communities who make it a priority to recruit veterans will be among the first in line when it comes to getting help from the federal government. i know that is one thing, chief, you have been doing here in arlington. we want to prioritize veterans and we want to help states and local communities hire veterans to firehouses and police stations across the country. the second thing we want to do is connect up to 20,000 veterans with jobs that involve rebuilding local communities or national parks. that is why ken salazar is here as the interior secretary. he needs help.

our veterans are highly qualified to help him. they have already risked their america.ending ma ining they should have the opportunity to rebuild america. we have raoepdz bridges around t the national parks. fix them. congress needs to fund them. congress should take the money we are no longer spending on war and use half of it to pay down our debt and use the rest to do some nation building here and improve the quality of life rig right here in the united states america. and put our veterans to work. so, let's get more cops on the beat, no rangers in the park, more firefighters on call and in the process we are going to put more veterans back to work. it is good for our communities, good for our economy and good for our country. and for veterans who want to do something else, maybe put their

leadership skills to use starting a small business, we are going to start offering entrepreneurial training to our veterans. we want service members prepared for battle and for professional success when they come home. so, we should do all that we can to support our troops and veterans in helping them start a business, in helping them get a foothold in a fire station like this and start moving up the ranks, doing outstanding work the way jacob has been doing. but we also need to follow their lead. we should learn from them. those men and women in uniform, a lot like the firefighters in this fire station, work together. they act as a team, finish the

j job. that is what we have to do when it comes to our nation's recovery. these are challenging times for america but we have faced challenging times before. on the ground here you have a beam from the world trade cen r center. that reminds us of our resolve as a people. it reminds us when we come together as one people and as one community, one nation, we prevail. that is who we are. this is a nation that exists because generations of americans worked together to build it. this is a nation where out of many we come together as one. those are the values that every veteran understands. those are values that this fire station understands. we have to make sure we return to those values. if we do, then i guarantee you that we will remind everybody around the world why it is the united states is the greatest on earth. thank you very much, everybody.

god bless you. god bless americaround the worl

god bless americgod bless ameri.

>> house republican ladders respond to the january unemployment numbers. this is about 20 minutes.

>> good morning, everyone. i'm sure you are surprised me to be first. i'm from south dakota. i will talk to you about the american energy and infrastructure jobs act which is coming together on the house side this week. we have three bills that came through the natural resources and these are just common sense bills as far as i'm concerned. south dakota is a long way to get anywhere. you have families that are hard working taxpayers trying to stretch their dollars to make everything work but they need to pay for gas to drive, diesel fuel, energy to heat their homes. these bills will solve two problems at once. they are not only going to deal with our infrastructure needs that we have in this country but they are going to her our energy costs as well. just common sense. by accessing some offshore

drilling resources and using oil shale and making sure we can use other resources that are available that have been shut off such as the keystone pipeline. make sense to every day americans who are hard working taxpayers that want to get the job done. the benefits are it will create jobs, drive down energy consist and give them consistency in this economy which we have been lacking since this administration took office. gas prices have doubled since this president went into office. it is a tragic shame for those who are struggling through this tough economy. so, for me the overspending has to stop but we can do a lot to fix our funding issues. what is so unique about these bills that are going to come together is there is not going to be any earmarks attached. there will be no more stimulus

dollars when it comes to the transportation bill. i hope that is what you will focus on because this fundamental reform that will be great for america. >> good morning. i'm from texas. the president's team will trot out their happy face but the american people will say not so fast. we will worse than we did four years ago. we have five million more americans unemployment. the economy is underperforming. if it were perform, the way it did in the reagan recovery to an article in the "wall street journal" we would have almost 17 million more americans working today than we do right now. if the reagan recovery model was followed we would have almost 5,700 dollars per capita in greater g.d.p. than today. the president's policies have failed. they are holding back this

economic recovery and instead of trying to focus on real world solutions like these and g.o.p. jobs plan which is bipartisan, that is stacked up in the senate, he is relying on the politics of enhave i and division. -- envy and division. i started a company in late 2005 and it was sold early last year. if i sat down to start that company today i wouldn't. and i wouldn't have because of the uncertainty of this president's policies. i don't know what my taxes are to be this time next year. i don't know what new regulation is going to get in my way. i don't know the next keystone that will be killed. i don't know the next waste of taxpayer dollars on a project. because of that i'm going to sit and wait until the president pays attention to real world solutions to put americans back to work. thank you. >> good morning. it was three years ago this

month that president obama came to congress and said you must pass my stimulus package. it was a $787 billion spending program. at that time he promised america that if you pass this machine unemployment will not exceed 8%. month that this is the 36th month in a row that 8% has been exceeded. yet, it didn't have to be this way. there is a different approach we could have taken. bill pointed to it. president reagan took a approach. he took an approach focused on pro growth and free market solutions. it is important to remember that president reagan had a more difficult, deeper recession. unemployment was higher. the inflation was rampant. yet, he took an approach that in the third year of his term resulted in the economy booming by then. president obama has taken the approach of borrowing and spending and those are policies

that fail. if anything, they make it worse. house republicans stand here today looking forward to a pro growth agenda, a jobs package that would get people back to work and get americans back to work. >> the american people were reminded again the president's policies failed. when the congressional budget announced that this president is on track to deliver a trillion dollar plus deficit every year he is in office. today is an indication of another failure of this president's policies, 36 months in a row of 8% plus unemployment. we are all encouraged that the unemployment rate has come down. but again as my colleagues said, we were told if we passed the president's stimulus plan we would never see unemployment above 8%.

by a technical definition of a professional economist this economy is in recovery. by historic standards it is the slowest, weakest recovery in the post-depression era. yet, there are million of americans that don't feel the recovery. tell that to the one in seven under this president's policies to rely on food stamps. tell it to the 50%, almost half, of americans that according to the census bureau are either low income or in poverty. tell that to them that we have a great recovery. the president's policies have failed. that is one reason that we have seen the politics of digs and the american people don't want division and envy. they want more jobs. had this recovery followed the pattern of other recoveries in the post-war era, the americans

would have thousands of dollars more in their family budgets and millions more would be employed. that is why i'm proud house republicans continue to pass jobs bills. just this week, repealing once again a% -- a portion of the president's healthcare plan. one of the greatest impediments to the jobs business. ensuring that our congressional budget office will give us ma o macroeconomic views. wasn't it interesting after the president's healthcare plan passed we got the report from the congressional budget office that it could cost us almost a million jobs. i wonder what would have happened had that information been available to the american people ahead of time. so, another week, another indication of failed presidential policies, another week more republican jobs bills passed in the house.

>> good morning. the jobs numbers today are certainly welcome news. i think all of us want to see get back to work. but as my colleagues have laid out, we could do a lot better. that is the kind of policies that we are talking about in our job creation plan. the president this week has indicated that perhaps he may now join us in focusing on the backbone of the american economy, which are the american small businesses. we know that every business at one point was a small business. small business start-ups and the number of jobs created are still woefully low. if we want to get more people back to work and reflect the growth rate that we have seen in the reagan recovery and beyond, we can do that by focusing on small business. we are going to bring a bill to the floor of the house prior to tax day which provides small business a 20% tax cut.

that is the kind of measure that will help inspire entrepreneurs, small businessmen and women to invest and create more jobs. they need a signal from washington that there is not an adversary here, that we believe in the aspirational sense of america and believe in small business entrepreneurs. >> good morning, everyone. the american people have seen the same story for 36 straight months. while there are flickers of hope in our recovery and certainly the american people were promised that the unemployment would not exceed 8% and we have 36 straight months over. back three years ago when the president asked us to vote for his stimulus bill they said unemployment at this point would be at 6%. so, while we welcome the positive news today, i think that our point is very simple. we can do better.

the way we do better is for the senate to take up the 27 jobs bills in the united states sena senate. the president asked us to work with him. we have worked with him. a lot of these bills he supports and his job council supports and all of them have passed with bipartisan support in the house. so, the president really wants to get the economy moving again, really wants to improve his own chances for re-election, maybe pick up the phone and call senator reid and ask senate democrats to get off their rear ends. >> coming up "washington journal" will take your questions and comments. after that a u.n. security council meeting on the situation in syria. [captions copyright national [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2012]