Reid: Jobs report could be better if GOP stopped obstruction

By Ramsey Cox - 10/05/12 12:41 PM ET

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said the jobs report could have been better Friday if Republicans would stop holding up work in Congress.

“We could be moving even faster if Republicans would drop their knee-jerk obstruction and work with Democrats,” Reid said in a statement Friday, after the September employment report showed that the unemployment rate dropped below 8 percent, to 7.8 percent — the lowest since President Obama took office.

Reid said the positive jobs numbers came with no help from Republicans.

“My counterpart, Sen. [Mitch] McConnell (R-Ky.), said that his ‘single most important’ goal was defeating President Obama, not working to create jobs or grow the middle class,” Reid said. “It’s time for Republicans to put politics aside, and put the middle class first.”

Reid, whose state has the highest unemployment rate in the country, said more still needs to be done to get Americans back to work.

“We still have a lot of work to do, but with unemployment dropping below 8 percent to the lowest level in four years, our economy is on the right track,” Reid said. “The unemployment rate fell even after more than four hundred thousand people entered the workforce.

“There are still far too many people looking for work in Nevada and across the nation, but today’s report shows that the balanced policies advanced by President Obama and Democrats in the House and Senate are working to move our economy forward.”

Although several Senate Republicans called for new leadership, saying Obama and the Democrats' plan has failed.

“Washington's pattern of spending, taxing and regulating has failed to turn our economy around and create jobs; it is time to head in a new direction and pursue pro-growth policies that encourage businesses to grow and create jobs, jump-start our economy and ensure America’s best days are ahead of us,” Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) said in a statement Friday.