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Rep. Paul Tonko (D-Amsterdam) released the following statement after the Department of Labor reported that 598,000 people lost their jobs in January, the largest one month job loss since December of 1974. The unemployment rate in the United States is now 7.6%, the highest rate in 16 years:

"Today's report on unemployment follows weeks of news headlines detailing massive job cuts at some of America’s largest companies. Our small businesses are also suffering, and working families are finding it harder and harder to make ends meet. If we don't act now to pass this bold legislation, more Americans will lose their jobs and their homes.

"This bill will lead to immediate job creation across all sectors of our economy while at the same time making the investments we need for a healthy economic future. By repairing our crumbling roads, school buildings and universities, we will not only create hundreds of thousands of construction jobs but we will make it more efficient for businesses to ship goods, for people to go to work and for our children to get an education. The bill also invests in the research and development that will lead to the next generation of energy efficient and health technologies, which will create high paying research jobs and make the American people safer, healthier and less susceptible to energy shocks in the future.

"Despite the tremendous challenges our country is facing, some continue to advocate for the same policies that caused these problems in the first place.  I am hopeful that my Republican colleagues will join us in supporting the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and put our economy back on track."
 

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