U.S. Sen. Rob Portman was disappointed with the latest jobs report that showed the nation’s unemployment rate rising to 7.9 percent.

Portman, R-Ohio, noted the report comes after the Commerce Department announced earlier this week that the U.S. economy shrank in the last quarter of 2012 for the first time since the recession ended.

“This week, we were sad to learn not only that unemployment remains high, but also that the economy actually shrunk in the most recent quarter,” Portman said in a statement. “This is far from the robust economic recovery that we hope for and that was promised; it’s time to face the facts and start implementing pro-growth policies to rejuvenate our economy and put people back to work.”

Portman said that in order to get the economy back on the right track, lawmakers must rein in Washington’s out-of-control deficits, modernize an antiquated and inefficient tax code, reform important but unsustainable entitlement programs, and reduce onerous regulations that prevent businesses from expanding here at home.

“Yesterday, I fought to tackle one piece of the problem by introducing two commonsense amendments to the debt limit bill that would provide a pathway forward to really address our soaring debt, but unfortunately they did not pass the Senate,” Portman said. “This week’s two troubling reports are the latest sign in a string of evidence that we need to get serious about growing our economy, and I am disappointed that the Senate Democrats shied away from having a real conversation about DC’s reckless spending habits.”

John Arthur Hutchison
JHutchison@News-Herald.com
Twitter: @newsheraldjah

U.S. Rep. Steven C. LaTourette, R-Bainbridge Township, voted Thursday to extend unemployment benefits.

He said benefits for millions of Americans had been held hostage by partisan bickering in Washington, DC.

LaTourette said it’s unconscionable that benefits have been held up for so long.

The measure passed the House of Representatives by a vote of 272-152, and already passed in the Senate. President Barack Obama signed the measure Thursday into law.

“I would certainly prefer that these benefits be paid for, but I cannot in good conscience ignore the hardship and suffering of Americans and that’s why I voted to approve these benefits twice in the last few weeks,” LaTourette said.

The congressman said the delay has added unnecessary stress to those who are out of work, and pounding the pavement looking for jobs. He said it’s hard to fathom why the House and Senate leadership are so rigid in their refusal to attempt to offset even one cent of the costs of extending benefits.

“Some suggest that finding $34 billion to pay for this is an impossible burden, and that’s nonsense. An impossible burden is finding a job in this economy,” LaTourette said.

-- John Arthur Hutchison
JHutchison@News-Herald.com