WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Department of Labor reported that 63,000 jobs were lost in the U.S. economy in February, marking the second straight month of job losses. This comes a day after the Mortgage Bankers Association reported an all-time high in foreclosures during the last quarter of 2007, including a record high foreclosure rate of 0.68 percent in New Jersey.

Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ), a member of the Senate Banking Committee, today reiterated the need for the Senate to pass the housing stimulus package, which has been obstructed on the Senate floor by Republicans. Senator Menendez released the following statement today:

“This barrage of bad news on the economy only reiterates the struggles that so many Americans are living with every day. Just because the administration was asleep at the switch when the first signs of trouble were mounting doesn’t mean we can sit idly by now as more and more Americans begin to feel the squeeze. Though there are no magic answers to all of our economic problems, the economic stimulus we passed will give a needed push in the months ahead, and now we have the potential to give an even bigger boost with other recovery measures that were omitted from the first package.

“In the midst of this foreclosure crisis, the strained housing market needs a shot in the arm, and the housing stimulus package that Republicans refuse to let advance in the Senate would do just that. Americans who are struggling to keep their homes or are suffering in other ways as a result of the weak economy deserve action, not political games.”