Economists at the non-partisan may credit the economic stimulus enacted by President Obama and the previous Congress for boosting economic growth and jobs through the end of last year (and presumably into this year.)
But Speaker John Boehner and the House GOP won their majority in part by arguing that the stimulus was a bust.
Because congressional Republicans view federal spending as the economy's main threat and tax cuts as the real stimulation for economic growth, Boehner credited the December deal to extend the Bush tax cuts for February's positive jobs data.
The U.S. Labor Department reported that the economy produced 192,000 jobs in February with the jobless rate falling to 8.9 percent, dropping below 9 percent for the first time since Spring 2009.
In a statement, Boehner said:
"Any improvement in the jobs situation for our country is welcome news, but unemployment is still far above where the Obama Administration promised it would be when it forced our children to pay for the 'stimulus' fiasco, which accelerated a government spending binge that continues to block our nation's path to prosperity.
"The improvement seen in this report is a credit to the hard work of the American people and their success in stopping the tax hikes that were due to hit our economy on January 1. Removing the uncertainty caused by those looming tax hikes provided much-needed relief for private-sector job creators in America. Now we must build on it by eliminating the job-crushing uncertainty being caused by excessive spending, borrowing, and regulating in Washington. We must take immediate action to end the spending binge in Washington and remove federal barriers to job growth, like the ObamaCare small business mandate repealed by the House this week.
"The path to prosperity and job creation lies in liberating our economy from the shackles of excessive government and unleashing the awesome potential of the American people. This has been and will continue to be the number-one priority for our new majority."
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