WASHINGTON – U.S. Representative Tom Graves (R, GA-09) released the following statement in response to today’s August 2012 jobs report. The U.S. Department of Labor reported that only 96,000 jobs were created in August, while unemployment remained above 8 percent for the past three and a half years.

“This is the weakest economic recovery since the Great Depression, with 23 million Americans still unemployed, underemployed, or looking for a job. This lack of economic hope and opportunity is driving many Americans to stop looking for work, resulting in the lowest labor force participation rate in more than 30 years. Americans deserve better, and President Obama’s economic policies of big government spending, massive tax hikes, and more government regulation have only left us with more debt, not more jobs. It’s time for a new direction, one that concentrates on empowering the private sector by removing the obstacles blocking economic expansion. Democrats in the Senate should go to work and vote on the 30-plus jobs bills passed by the House, so millions of unemployed Americans can find a good job and provide for their families.”