the unemployment rate came down caork. all together, we added 3.7 million new jobs over last 23 months. now, these numbers will go up and down in the coming months. there are still far too many americans who need a job or need a job that pays better than the one they have now. the economy is growing stronger. the recovery is speeding up. we've got 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 to stop taxes from going up on 160 million americans at the end of this month. they have to renew the payroll tax cut that they extended only for a couple of months. they need to pass the extension of the payroll tax cut and unemployment insurance and do it without drama and without delay and without linking it to some ideological side issues. they need to get it done. it shouldn't