Economy and Jobs

"Since Senator Bunning insists on testing the financial wherewithal of millions of unemployed Americans, the least we can do is test his resolve. If he wants to filibuster emergency legislation that impacts millions of Americans, let him filibuster for real. Lock the doors; hand him a glass of water; and bring in the phonebooks. If he complains about being late for a basketball game like he did on Friday, I know a few thousand constituents with some more pressing complaints directed at the distinguished Senator from Kentucky."

"Senator Jim Bunning and his Senate Republican colleagues have put millions of Americans in the cross hairs of their extreme ideology. By blocking the unemployment benefit extension, Republicans have ripped away federal unemployment benefits from over a million jobless workers who will become ineligible in March. How many homes will be lost because of this unbelievably callous act? How many children will go to bed hungry because Bunning was more interested in cheap theatre than governance?"

"With this bill, we force America’s health insurance industry into the same market that we want all American industry to be in: the free market competitive system. This is simple. Insurance companies should not be able to monopolize the health insurance marketplace," Congressman Garamendi said. "For 65 years, the insurance industry has used the anti-trust exemption to collude against consumers, fixing prices and raising rates well above inflation. Enough is enough."

"Standing here on these beautiful rolling hills, it’s encouraging to remember that the exhilarating breezes produced by nature here are capable of providing clean power to 74,000 Californians – nature providing opportunities to protect nature," said Congressman Garamendi, a member of the House Science and Technology Committee. "The Shiloh II project is precisely the type of clean technology project that Congress should promote. Environmental protection and job creation aren’t just compatible; with the coming climate change calamity, they’re intimately linked. Like Shiloh II, we must prioritize clean energy projects that green our planet and our wallets."

"When I served under President Clinton, we presided over a remarkable era of economic growth and job creation by paying for sound investments and important research. We turned huge deficits into a $5.6 trillion projected surplus," Congressman Garamendi said. "Unfortunately, President Bush decided we could have our cake, add layers of an unfunded war in Iraq and tax breaks for the rich, and eat it too."

"America is on a path to recovery, but further efforts to increase employment are needed," said Congressman Garamendi, who as California’s first elected Insurance Commissioner regulated the largest financial sector in America. "The big banks continue to deny loans to small businesses, and it’s time for a change."

"While we have a long way to go to rebuild an economy that was nearly destroyed by Bush-era crony capitalism and insatiable Wall Street greed, today’s impressive GDP news is one of the clearest indications yet that our economy is turning around."