White House needles Boehner on jobs

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WASHINGTON, Dec. 1 (UPI) -- A White House official made a point Tuesday of making sure U.S. House Minority Leader John Boehner got the word about an update on stimulus-attributed jobs.

Ed DeSeve, a senior adviser to the Democratic Obama administration on the Recovery Act, sent a letter to the Ohio Republican pointing out the Congressional Budget Office reported 1.6 million jobs were created or saved in the third quarter through federal stimulus spending, MSNBC reported on its Web site.

The letter also went to the House Oversight and Government Reform's ranking member, Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif.

"Indeed, having heard the Congressional Budget Office cited frequently in your speeches and statements, it seems their report should be a particularly reliable and independent answer to any questions you may have about Recovery Act job impact," DeSeve wrote to Boehner.

Boehner responded that the Congressional Budget Office says upfront that it is "impossible" to determine who many jobs would have existed without the $787 billion in stimulus spending.

"The Obama administration is trying to scam the American people by continuing to repeat their phony 'stimulus' claims, including the number of jobs 'saved or created' -- a metric it seems to have made up out of thin air," Boehner said.

Issa's office also was quick to fire back.

"The American people's confidence in this administration continues to erode as misleading statistics are touted in an attempt to distract attention away from the failure to stop double-digit unemployment," statement issued by Issa's office said.