Ross Labor Day message

For the past few weeks, U.S. Congressman Mike Ross has been traveling throughout his congressional district and hosting town hall meetings to listen to you. These are his remarks concerning Labor Day.

No matter where I go, the one message I hear over and over is that it’s time to focus on jobs. It’s time to put people back to work. And, it’s time to get our economy back on track.

Monday, September 5 was Labor Day. Each year, on this day, we celebrate America's workforce. We pay tribute to the contributions hardworking Americans have made to the strength, prosperity and well-being of our country for generations. But, it’s also a day to renew our commitment to the American worker and to American manufacturing.

As Congress reconvenes following the Labor Day holiday, jobs should be our top priority. For too long, unemployment has remained stubbornly high and the stock market drastically unpredictable. By stabilizing and strengthening our economy, we give employers the confidence they need to expand and hire more workers.

As we focus on jobs, we must also continue our work on reducing the debt and deficit. Our current massive budget deficits and historic national debt are serious issues and we must get our nation’s fiscal house back in order as soon as possible. As a fiscal conservative, I have supported and voted for more than $2 trillion in spending cuts, while also protecting Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and veterans benefits. And, as your Congressman, I will continue to lead the fight for fiscal responsibility in Washington.

While spending cuts are important and necessary, I also believe another effective way to reduce our deficit is to put more Americans back to work in the private sector. When more Americans are working, more are paying taxes and less are dependent on government programs and services. In order for our progress on deficit reduction to continue, we must stabilize and strengthen our economy.

On Labor Day, let us renew our commitment to the American worker by focusing on job creation. Congress must be willing to work together, listen to each other and the American people and focus on education and innovation in America. No one side has a monopoly on good ideas and I will continue to work with both Democrats and Republicans to reduce our deficit, get our economy back on track and put more Americans back to work.