McCarthy: it's all about jobs while Pelosi deals with health care

 Rep. Kevin  McCarthy, R-Bakersfield, checks in from Capitol Hill. His weekly report in his own words:

 "As we have seen lately, the only economic indicators that seem to be growing are our nation’s unemployment, deficit, and debt.  Five years ago, the U.S. unemployment rate was 5.3%, California’s was 5.8%, and Kern’s was 10.3%.  Now let’s fast-forward to today-the U.S.’s unemployment hovers around 9.7%. Our state’s unemployment has risen to 12.5%, and our County’s unemployment rate has soared to 17.1%.  This means that in the United States there are currently 14.8 million unemployed Americans. When you count those who’ve given up looking for work, and full-time jobs seekers who have settled for part-time work, the number of unemployed Americans increase to over 24 million.
 "We cannot lose our confidence with numbers like these, we are still the greatest country in the world, and we can overcome any obstacle in our path.  Economic certainty is vital to improve our business climate, but Washington is contributing to the uncertainty with burdensome regulations that stifles job creation.  What we need are jobs-my number one priority.  I hosted a local job expo in Bakersfield on Monday and I saw first hand the sheer number of qualified Americans (close to 2,000) who are out of work and in the process looking for a job.  This reaffirmed my belief that the President and Congressional Democrats are out-of-touch with main street-we need common-sense solutions that create an environment of confidence and fiscal certainty that promotes economic growth to get Americans back to work in our communities.  The progressive agenda of more debt is the wrong approach.

 "For instance in Washington this week the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) scored the current Senate heath care bill, which will now cost $875 billion over 10 years. This figure coupled with the Treasury Department’s recent announcement that in February the government ran its largest ever monthly deficit of $221 billion – a 10.5% increase from the $194 billion deficit in February 2009 – only illuminates the out-of-control Washington spending that’s not producing jobs.

 "This week, Speaker Pelosi and her Democratic colleagues chose not to bring any bills that would promote job creation to the House floor for a vote because they were too busy twisting arms and in back room discussions strategizing a way to ram through their government takeover of health care.  It’s time to get our priorities straight. We need to reduce our national debt, get our fiscal house in order, and put Americans back to work.  After that we can start over on a health care bill that includes common-sense solutions Americans actually want.

 "Mid-week, I was honored to be present as the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) were awarded the Congressional Gold Medal for their sacrifice and service during World War II.  These were the first female pilots to fly military aircraft.  I am glad we recognized all of these amazing pilots, including the three who live in our communities. Flora Belle Reece, Irma “Babe” Story, and Marguerite “Ty” Killen, are all examples of true American patriots who served our country with dedication.