Virginia House Dems put ‘Jobs First’

The Virginia House Democratic Caucus on Tuesday launched a campaign to put job creation first in Virginia. The Caucus launched a website, www.VAJobsFirst.com, designed to highlight their focus on Jobs First and make the public aware of the Republican’s dismal job creation record in Virginia.

“Virginia needs strong leadership to create the high-paying jobs that Virginians need and deserve.  Neither the Governor nor Republicans in the House of Delegates have met this challenge”, said Democratic Caucus Chair Del. Ken Plum (D-Reston).  Instead of advancing a jobs agenda, Speaker Howell and his Republican colleagues bowed to the Tea Party and offered a radical agenda more concerned with repealing federal laws than putting people back to work.”

Plum pointed to a report by the non-partisan Commonwealth Institute for Fiscal Analysis which showed that job growth has not kept pace with population growth¹.  The report indicated that Virginia still faces significant future challenges in job growth.  Between May and August 2011 Virginia had already lost 38 percent of the jobs created since February 2010.  Plum also noted that in August, Virginia lost over 9,500 jobs and the unemployment rate rose to 6.3 percent.

Plum continued: “We encourage Virginians to visit ‘VAJobsFirst.com’ to learn more about how Democratic Delegates have stood up to the “anything but jobs” agenda of the Republican Party and offer their ideas on how we can create jobs in Virginia.  Now is the time for real leadership and House Democrats are ready to get our Commonwealth back to work.”