NEW: Langevin Calls For Focus On Jobs
Thursday, August 04, 2011
Now that Washington lawmakers have reached an agreement on the debt ceiling, Congressman James Langevin is calling on Congress to refocus its efforts on creating jobs.
Langevin and former Lt. Governor Charles Fogarty, the Director of the Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training toured the netWORKri one-stop career center in West Warwick this morning, meeting with job seekers and addressing opportunities for individuals to receive “retraining” that helps mold their skills to fit the types of jobs that are available.
On Tuesday, Langevin said he was a reluctant supporter of the Budget Control Act, but urged Congress to do more to create jobs.
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“Mr. Speaker, I firmly believe that we cannot impose fiscal austerity at the risk of our economic recovery,” Langevin said. “We have a serious budget deficit, but we also have a significant jobs deficit. Rhode Island’s unemployment rate is 10.8 percent, the third highest in the nation. This is completely unacceptable and does not represent the true potential of our great state. We desperately need to turn our focus back to creating quality job opportunities, which should continue to be our most important economic priority. As we move forward to the next stage of the deficit reduction plan, we must have the courage to take a balanced approach that asks everyone to sacrifice so we can return to a strong and prosperous economy.”
