FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

April 4, 2008

Contact:

Kate Bedingfield

603 647 2008

603 361 8036

Catilin Legacki

603 647 2008

BUSH-SUNUNU ECONOMY LOSES ANOTHER 80,000 JOBS IN MARCH

Third consecutive month of rising unemployment offers stark signal country is facing recession as Washington fails to take real steps to help New Hampshire families

(Manchester, NH) – As the Labor Department today announced the loss of 80,000 jobs in March, middle-class families continue to feel the impact of the Bush-Sununu economic agenda.  March job loss was significantly more severe than anticipated and the unemployment rate spiked to 5.1%, the highest rate since the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in 2005.  Yet, as the economy continues to plummet and middle class families struggle to make ends meet, John Sununu continues to support the Bush administration's do-nothing agenda that leaves everyday New Hampshire families out in the cold.

"While John Sununu loyally supports the Bush economic agenda, Americans are finding it harder and harder to support their families," said Kate Bedingfield, communications director for Jeanne Shaheen for Senate.  "While New Hampshire families struggle to make ends meet, Washington's response has been to sit back and watch.  New Hampshire families need leaders who will stand up and take real action."

As the economy has struggled under the weight of the subprime market collapse, John Sununu has:

● opposed the Foreclosure Prevention Act, legislation that would address the housing crisis by slowing plummeting home values and stemming the foreclosure explosion.

● opposed extending unemployment insurance, even as 207,000 Americans have lost private sector jobs since January 1.

● supported billions of dollars in tax breaks for oil and gas companies even as ExxonMobil records record profits and gas prices in New Hampshire hit a record high $3.15 a gallon.