Marco Rubio Blames Stimulus and Health-Care Law for Unemployment

Florida Republican U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio weighed in on Friday on the news that the national unemployment rate remained at 9.1 percent in August -- the same as it was in July.

Todays sobering jobs report, showing that no new jobs were created in August, is another reminder of the seriousness of our economic crisis, said Rubio. It should come as no surprise as to why we are here. Two and half years ago, an $800 billion stimulus bill passed with the promise of keeping unemployment below 8 percent, but new projections predict unemployment will stay above 8 percent until 2013. Almost two years ago, Democrats rammed through a $2.6 trillion health-care spending law containing over $1 trillion in new tax hikes and penalties. This year alone, over 50,000 pages of onerous regulations have been added to the books from agencies like the Environmental Protection Agency and the National Labor Relations Board.

If were going to create jobs, we must empower job creators through policies like pro-growth tax and regulatory reform, spending restraint, and by immediately ratifying the pending free-trade agreements, added Rubio.