We’ve saved jobs by closing state budget shortfalls to prevent the layoffs of hundreds of thousands of police officers, firefighters, and teachers who are today on the beat, on call, and in the classroom because of the Recovery Act. And we’ve also created hundreds of thousands of jobs through the largest investment in our roads since the building of the interstate highways, and through the largest investments in education, medical research, and clean energy in history.” – President Barack Obama, Last Week’s Radio Address

WASHINGTON. D.C. – House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Ranking Member Darrell Issa (R-CA) released the following statement this morning as the U.S. Department of Labor reported the nation’s unemployment rate rose in October from 9.8 percent to 10.2 percent – a loss of 190,000 jobs:

“Despite skyrocketing unemployment rates and millions of lost jobs, the Administration continues to peddle jobs “saved and created” figures to avoid accountability for their job-killing policies.  By creating the immeasurable metric of “jobs created or saved,” the Administration can make job claims month after month that fly in the face of economic reality.  The reality is this Administration and Congress has created a so-called “too big to fail” mentality that is economically unsustainable and will result in higher health care costs, higher energy taxes, higher deficits, and more bailouts.”