One year today since #GOP took control of the House and "no new jobs."
A Democratic congressman from New Jersey took a jab at his Republican colleagues to mark the one-year anniversary of GOP control in the House of Representatives. In exactly 140 characters, U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone (D-6th Dist.) reminded his more than 5,000 Twitter followers last week of what one year of Republican rule has reaped. "One year today since #GOP took control of the House. One full year of obstruction & no new jobs. #WeCan’tWait. Get back to work no-show GOP!" Pallone’s Jan. 5 tweet said. No new jobs, really? Actually, the United States has added more than a million jobs in the last year. From December 2010 to December 2011, the country gained 1.64 million jobs, according to the most recent federal employment data. And there’s been job creation, month over month, for the past 15 months. We’re not crediting Congressional Republicans with that job growth. As we’ve noted before: there’s a variety of factors that contribute to job creation, and it’s difficult to nail down a specific catalyst. Still, to say there’s been "no new jobs" is clearly wrong. A written statement from the congressman’s office said, in part, that Pallone "tweeted a message decrying the consistent Republican inaction in Congress on moving a meaningful agenda to create jobs and address the unemployment crisis that has continued to plague our struggling economy. In the full year since Republicans have taken control of Congress, they have refused to propose any serious jobs plan to get Americans back to work." In response to a follow-up question that asked whether Pallone concedes the tweet wasn’t intended to say there’s actually been "no new jobs," the congressman’s spokesman wrote: "We stand by the statement issued earlier, which clearly states our position." "In the full year since Republicans have taken control of Congress, they have refused to propose any serious jobs plan to get Americans back to work," the statement said. "House Republicans have not only failed to make any progress on measures to create jobs, they have voted against Democrats’ job creation proposals 17 times." It’s worth noting that PolitiFact National checked a related statement made in Facebook posts that claimed Congressional Republicans have introduced dozens of bills on social issues and other topics, but "zero on job creation." PolitiFact noted that what defines a job creation bill is up for significant debate. Still, they ruled the statement Pants on Fire largely because the methodology behind the figure also excluded President Barack Obama’s "American Jobs Act" as a "job creation" bill. Our ruling A tweet posted on Pallone’s account on Jan. 5 said it’s "one year today since #GOP took control of the House" and "no new jobs." A written statement from Pallone’s office said the tweet decried "consistent Republican inaction in Congress on moving a meaningful agenda to create jobs." But "no new jobs" isn’t the same as a "no new jobs agenda" and the U.S. gained 1.64 million of the former in the last year. Yes, there’s a limit of 140 characters on Twitter, but there’s still room for accuracy. We rate this statement False. To comment on this ruling, go to NJ.com.
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