Scott calls out Biden admin's job growth ‘lie’ after Philly Fed report shows numbers off by more than 1M jobs
Scott called the discrepancy 'a massive and incredibly consequential failure'
Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., wants answers after a recent report from the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia appeared to blow a whole through the Biden administration's claim that the U.S. added more than a million jobs from March to June of 2022.
The Philadelphia Fed's report, released last week, week estimated that from March to June of this year, the U.S. added just 10,500 jobs, a glaring difference from the 1,121,500 estimated by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
"For the better part of his presidency, while the American economy has struggled and record inflation has brought historic pain to families and small businesses across the country, President Joe Biden has consistently bragged about job growth," Scott said in a letter to BLS Commissioner William Beach, noting that Biden has used data from his agency to support his agenda and policies.
"Now, thanks to the good work of analysts at the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, we know that the BLS inaccurately reported the creation more than one million jobs, and that much of what President Biden has claimed credit for as the economic achievements for his administration is a lie," Scott added.
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A spokesperson for BLS said the Bureau received Scott's letter and "is looking forward to meeting with him on Thursday." Fox Business reached out to the White House for comment but they did not immediately respond.
Scott's letter went on to say that the discrepancy "appears to be a massive and incredibly consequential failure that has misled the American people and covered up the damage done to the American economy by President Biden’s radical anti-business, progovernment agenda."
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To illustrate that point, Scott recalled how in April the White House used BLS job statistics "to signal that their ‘plans and policies have produced the strongest job creation economy in modern times.’"
"But this new report shows that to be untrue," Scott said.
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The Florida Republican is scheduled to speak with Beach later this week, and he asked the commissioner to come prepared with an explanation for why the BLS reporting was "so inaccurate," and if anyone from the White House or other senior administration officials had spoken to him about the report. Scott also asked if BLS had any change in how they collected, analyzed, or reported data since Biden took office.
"It is vital that the greatest economy be driven on data that is reliable and trustworthy," Scott said. "I will not rest until the American people can be assured that the economic data being reported by the Biden administration is accurate, this issue has been resolved and any person responsible for this egregiously false reporting has been held fully accountable."