Washington, DC - Today, Ways and Means Chairman Dave Camp (R-MI), who is leading the conference committee to resolve differences between the House and Senate on the payroll tax holiday, unemployment benefits and the Medicare “doc-fix,” issued the following statement: “I have spoken with my fellow House Republican conferees and we are committed to resolving the differences between the House and Senate. While we will continue our negotiations in good faith and remain hopeful that a deal will come ... Read more

Today, an article from The Washington Post highlights that despite the recent drop in the unemployment rate, Americans without a high school education continue to be at an extreme disadvantage when it comes to reemployment. The article notes, “The news is worse for high school dropouts. One in five of them have lost their jobs since 2007, with about half of those losses occurring after the recession ended, the Urban Institute said. Overall, the unemployment rate for high school dropouts was 13.1... Read more

On February 1, 2009, President Obama said when speaking on the economy, “If I don’t have this done in three years, then there’s going to be a one-term proposition.” Three years later, the results couldn’t be clearer. The failed policies and broken promises of the President’s trillion dollar stimulus have made things worse than if he had simply done nothing at all. All the while, the President and Congressional Democrats continue to further stifle an already weak economy, with the same approach -... Read more

Today, groups representing thousands of employers across the nation wrote a letter in support of the unemployment insurance reforms Republicans included in H.R. 3630, “The Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act,” that help the unemployed get back into the workforce, promote state flexibility and avoid tax increases on employers. Currently, H.R. 3630 is pending in a conference committee charged with resolving differences between the House and Senate on this bill to extend the payroll tax ho... Read more

In today’s meeting of the Conferees for H.R. 3630, the “Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act,” Democrat Conferees spoke in opposition to the education provision in the House-passed bill. The provision requires those receiving unemployment insurance to make progress toward a GED if they have not graduated from high school, with appropriate exceptions like for older workers. Democrat Conferees opposed the requirement despite what the chart below shows - those with a higher education are bo... Read more

In his January 24, 2012 State of the Union Address President Barack Obama spoke of the optimism of the World War II generation and noted: “They understood they were part of something larger; that they were contributing to a story of success that every American had a chance to share – the basic American promise that if you worked hard, you could do well enough to raise a family, own a home, send your kids to college, and put a little away for retirement. The defining issue of our time is how to k... Read more

Earlier this week during his State of the Union address, President Obama said, “The defining issue of our time is how to keep that [American] promise alive.” What he conveniently omitted from his speech was that his failed policies have done nothing to make it easier to achieve, or afford, success. In fact, as the table below shows, the Obama Administration has left Americans worse off. America Before President Obama Took Office and Now Before Now Change Number of Unemployed1 12.0 Million 13.1 M... Read more

On January 24, 2012, the President said in his annual State of the Union Address: “This is a make or break moment for the middle class, and all those who are fighting to get into the middle class.” Throughout his address, the President outlined his ideas for “helping” the middle class. The words may sound familiar, but the promise rings hollow. This is especially true when you consider the current state of the economy, and the fact that three years ago, the Obama Administration said its 2009 sti... Read more

Last night President Obama had this to say about the importance of completing high school for teenagers: “We also know that when students aren’t allowed to walk away from their education, more of them walk the stage to get their diploma. So tonight, I call on every State to require that all students stay in high school until they graduate or turn eighteen.” The President’s call for more Americans to complete at least high school compliments a reform in H.R. 3630, the House-passed yearlong payrol... Read more

When President Obama delivers his State of the Union address tonight, Americans will likely be asking themselves two questions: "Where are the jobs?" and “Haven’t I heard this before?” Instead of working with Republicans in the House and Senate to get Washington’s runaway spending under control and the more than 13 million unemployed Americans back to work, the President is expected to use his address to call for higher taxes and more government spending while invoking the same campaign-like rhe... Read more