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• Noem made no reference to extending long-term unemployment benefits, which expired in December. Obama and Senate Democrats have been pushing to pass a fresh extension this year but the Republican-controlled House has been resistant.
• Democrats have defended their handling of the economy, saying December was an outlier after months of steady job growth. They have also noted that the unemployment rate is at its lowest point since Oct. 2008, before President Barack Obama took office.
• Democrats have also pointed to overall long term growth in the job market, noting that U.S. employers have added more than 2 million jobs in each of the past two years, for an average of roughly 182,000 jobs a month.
• Outside analysts also blamed frigid and snowy December weather for part of the month's lackluster numbers.
• But Noem said the economy will suffer if Obama and others emphasize government programs instead of private sector growth. She said states like South Dakota prove which approach is correct.
• "If we want to truly give our young folks a shot at the American dream again, it's not going to be through a welfare program, through a government-run program ..." she said. "And we've got proof in what we're seeing in a lot of these Republican governor states. And that's why you'll continue to see the Republican conference push on the bills and the ideas that we brought forward.
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