[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 12]
[House]
[Page 16658]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                                  JOBS

  (Mrs. BLACK asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Mrs. BLACK. Mr. Speaker, I'm here today to talk about jobs. People in 
the Sixth District of Tennessee are hurting. Our State has currently a 
9.8 percent unemployment rate, and we have been at over 9 percent 
unemployment since February of 2009. Many of my counties are well above 
the Tennessee average. In Overton County, in the eastern part of my 
district, their unemployment rate is 10.6 percent; and in Marshall 
County in the southern part of my district, 13.8 percent of our 
population is out of work.
  The President's new slogan on jobs of ``We can't wait'' is an odd 
choice. Right now, there are 15 House-passed bills sitting on the 
Senate desk waiting for action. Since day one, I have been working with 
my colleagues to create certainty in our economy, trying to cut the 
burdensome red tape and get government out of the way. Throughout our 
Nation's history, it's been the American entrepreneurial spirit that 
has pushed us forward.
  Put simply, government does not create jobs. American small 
businessowners create jobs. That's why I'm here today to urge Majority 
Leader Reid and our colleagues in the Senate to pass these 15 jobs that 
we have created in a bipartisan manner over here in the House. America 
cannot wait, Mr. Reid. Take up our bills.

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