“With millions of Americans desperately seeking work, I ask the President to put the economy first and sit down with Republicans to develop bipartisan solutions that will change the direction of this economy and get people working again.”

WASHINGTON, D.C. – House Republican Whip Eric Cantor (R-VA) today issued the following statement after the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the U.S. economy lost 190,000 jobs in October, raising the unemployment rate to 10.2%:

“As unemployment tops 10 percent this holiday season, Republicans have put jobs and the economy first, and are focused on developing real solutions that will put Americans back to work. Increasing taxes on small business, as Democrats will do to pay for government run health care, is the wrong approach. Instead, we should work to empower small businesses to hire more workers, not penalize them further, costing even Americans their jobs."

Americans, particularly those with friends, neighbors, and family out of work, are pleading with leaders in Washington to focus on jobs and the economy. From coast to coast, people are concerned with the direction that Washington is heading, and are tired of the spending, tired of the waste, and are pleading for their leaders to focus on jobs and the economy.

“With millions of Americans desperately seeking work, I ask the President put the economy first, and sit down with Republicans to develop bipartisan solutions that will change the direction of this economy and get people working again.”