Progress Illinois

Saying it willingly accepts “mindless” cuts of the sequester, the budget proposal from U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan (R, WI-1), chairman of the House Budget Committee, guarantees the loss of 2 million jobs and favors wealthy Americans at the expense of average middle class families, according to U.S. Reps. Xavier Becerra (D, CA-34) and Donna Edwards (D, MD-4).

“This is Romney’s comeback, we see him in the letters and words of the Ryan Republican budget,” said Becerra on a Center for American Progress conference call Monday morning. “This is essentially the budget that Republican candidates Ryan and Romney ran on, and they were rejected by the voters because it favors the very wealthy at the expense of the middle class.”

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Unemployment rates are not expected to improve for white, Latino and African American workers through 2013, according to a new report from the Economic Policy Institute, prompting a recommendation for legislators that focus more on job creation.

“In the fourth quarter of 2012, nationwide unemployment rates were 6.3 percent for whites, 9.8 percent for Hispanics, and 14 percent for blacks. These elevated rates are projected to remain essentially unchanged at the end of 2013,” the report reads.

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