Brooklyn, N.Y. – Congresswoman Yvette D. Clarke released the following statement on a report from the Department of Labor announcing that the economy added 215,000 jobs in July, the sixty-fifth consecutive month of increases in private sector jobs. The unemployment rate remains 5.3 percent.

“Our economy continues to expand as companies, particularly small businesses, hire more workers. But the Republicans in Congress have resisted policies that would contribute to our economy and support the millions of men and women who want to work but cannot find jobs. Consider their refusal to renew the Highway Trust Fund, which creates jobs in construction and allows us to build the roads, bridges, and mass transit that we need to compete in the Twenty-First Century. Or recall their refusal to reauthorize the Export-Import Bank, which facilitates international trade and, incidentally, earns a profit for the American people.  In addition, loan guarantees from the Small Business Administration have been suspended since July because Republican refuse to raise the limit on the total amount of loans. The many loans authorized this year by the Small Business Administration – more than 45,000 loans – are an indication that small businesses want to continue to expand, hiring more workers and increasing the size of our economy. I believe Congress has a responsibility to work with the small businesses that are creating most of our jobs,” said Congresswoman Clarke, a member of the Small Business Committee who has co-sponsored H.R.3132, which would allow the Small Business Administration to continue providing affordable loans to eligible small businesses. 

Congresswoman Yvette D. Clarke is a member of the Committee on Energy and Commerce in the House of Representatives, a member of the Subcommittee on Commerce, Manufacturing, and Trade, the Subcommittee on Communications and Technology, and the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, as well as the Committee on Ethics and the Committee of Small Business. She represents many neighborhoods in central and southern Brooklyn, NY which include Brownsville, Crown Heights, East Flatbush, Flatbush, Gerritsen Beach, Madison, Midwood, parts of Park Slope and Flatlands, Prospect Heights, Prospect-Lefferts Gardens, Sheepshead Bay, and Windsor Terrace.