Jobs & the Economy

Jobs & the Economy
Creating jobs and expanding economic opportunity continues to be Democrats’ top priority. 
Throughout the 117th Congress, House Democrats have partnered with President Biden to enact policies that expand economic opportunity for businesses, workers, and communities across America. Under President Biden and Congressional Democrats, the unemployment rate is at its lowest in more than 50 years with more than 10 million jobs created, helping more of our people get ahead in today’s economy and Make It In America.
 
Democrats pursue an economic agenda that helps American businesses create good-paying jobs and ensure that workers have the tools not only to get by but to get ahead in our global economy.  From raising the minimum wage to providing skills training and apprenticeship opportunities to ensuring equal pay for equal work, from making childcare more affordable to making it easier to save for retirement, Democrats’ economic policies are aimed at helping workers and their families attain real economic security at every stage of life. 
 
Democrats have also delivered historic legislation investing in infrastructure and greater access to high-speed internet, taking the lead in the clean-energy economy, and supporting innovation and entrepreneurship. The generational Bipartisan Infrastructure Law has already begun to expand economic opportunity for Americans in communities across the country and takes action to repair our nation’s roads, bridges, ports, and other infrastructure while creating nearly 1.5 million jobs annually over the next decade. It contains the first major American investment in climate resilience to help communities upgrade their critical infrastructure and mitigate the impact of climate change-driven extreme weather. Likewise, the Inflation Reduction Act also advances America’s clean energy goals, turbocharging clean energy research and transmission while promoting electric vehicle domestic manufacturing to reduce American dependence on gasoline while revitalizing our auto industry.
 
The CHIPS and Science Act includes bipartisan measures to revitalize the domestic semiconductor industry and spur research. By strengthening domestic supply chains, this law acts directly to accelerate American innovation in the long-term while acting immediately to address inflation and create good paying jobs. House Democrats will continue to champion skills training and education at every level – from early childhood learning through higher education – to prepare our people for success and advancement in a changing economy.  In all of these efforts, Democrats will continue to look for ways to make access to opportunities more equitable and to combat the lingering effects of legalized discrimination that continue to make it harder for minorities to access credit for loans, seek investment capital for startups, and build wealth to pass on to the next generation. 
 
With historic job creation under President Biden, House Democrats will continue to advance policies that expand economic opportunity for working families, support small businesses, and create better-paying jobs.
Jobs & the Economy Related
For years, Leader Hoyer and House Democrats have championed the Make It In America plan. First begun as an effort to restore our nation’s manufacturing sector after the Great Recession, in the eleven years since its creation, the plan has been updated each Congress to respond to changing economic challenges and opportunities. In 2017 and 2018, House Democrats hit the road on a listening tour across the country to hear directly from Americans what tools they need in order to thrive in today’s economy.
11/9/21
WASHINGTON, DC – House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer (MD) released the following statement today on the May jobs report:

6/4/21
Today, House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer (MD) announced that Fifth District resident and business owner María Icaza will be his virtual guest for President Biden’s Joint Address to Congress this evening.
4/28/21
Today, Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer (MD-05) and House Democratic Caucus Chair Hakeem Jeffries (NY-08) sent a letter to House Committee on Appropriations Chairwoman Rosa DeLauro (CT-03) and Appropriations Subcommittee on the Legislative Branch Chairman Tim Ryan (OH-13) urging an increase in funding for staff salaries for Members, leadership offices, and committees.  Specifically, the letter includes a Fiscal Year 2022 request to increase such funding by 20% in order to return budgets for House salaries and expenses to the 2011 inflation-adjusted baseline.
4/28/21
I welcome President Biden's decision today to require that federal contractors pay their employees a $15 minimum wage. 
4/27/21
On Earth Day, together we take a step back and see ourselves not as members of communities or nations but as residents of one fragile planet. 
4/22/21
In the first 100 days of the 117th Congress, Democrats enacted the American Rescue Plan, comprehensive legislation to provide immediate assistance to American families and small businesses struggling because of the COVID-19 pandemic. With assistance from that law already going out the door, Democrats are also focused on building the economy back better.
4/19/21

MESSAGE FROM THE HOUSE MAJORITY LEADER


With the House returning to legislative session on Tuesday, Democrats kicked off a busy week of work For the People by advancing legislation that would increase economic opportunity for more Americans to get ahead.

4/16/21
I was proud to bring the Paycheck Fairness Act to the Floor today and work to secure its passage, as I did last Congress. 
4/15/21
Today marks the 100th day of the 117th Congress. In that time, House Democrats have passed important pieces of legislation and taken decisive action on behalf of the American people. Take a look at the major bills that have passed the House since the beginning of this Congress: 

H.R. 447, National Apprenticeship Act

4/12/21
WASHINGTON, DC – House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer (MD) released the following statement today on the March jobs report: 

4/2/21
Since the 117th Congress began, House Democrats have taken action to advance a number of bills that address issues critically important to the American people.
3/22/21
Madam Speaker, as we work to create jobs and build our economy back better, we need to make sure that the jobs that are available to Americans help them get by and get ahead.  That’s why Democrats passed the PRO Act last year and why we will do so again today.
3/9/21
Now, the 117th Congress is facing one of the most daunting scenarios that we've seen. We faced daunting scenarios the last time we were in the Majority in 2009, 2007, but 2008, we had the Great Recession and we needed to respond.
3/2/21
I am deeply disappointed by the ruling that an increase to the minimum wage would be subject to a point of order in the Senate.
2/25/21
“The Congressional Budget Office's ten-year budget and economic outlook demonstrates the scope of the fiscal challenges we will face after the current crisis has passed. 
2/11/21
This week, House committees begin marking up pieces of the American Rescue Plan to provide desperately needed relief to American families.
 
2/10/21
The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office’s projections for the Raise the Wage Act demonstrate just how important this legislation is.
2/8/21
WASHINGTON, DC – House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer (MD) released the following statement today on the January jobs report: 

2/5/21
The latest economic figures present the most compelling case for why Congress must move quickly to enact President Biden's American Rescue Plan.
1/28/21
In the previous Congress, the Democratic House Majority passed the Raise the Wage Act in order to ensure that American workers can earn incomes that enable them to make ends meet.  Today, Chairman Scott and Members of the Committee on Education and Labor are reintroducing this bill for the 117th Congress. 
1/26/21
The House has now passed legislation to increase the amount of the economic impact payments from $600 to $2,000.  The Democratic-led House has worked responsibly and tirelessly from the beginning of this pandemic to keep Americans safe and limit the economic impacts of COVID-19. 
12/28/20
This week’s unemployment insurance claims report ought to set off alarm bells across the country. It is clear that Republicans’ obstruction of COVID-19 relief has had a severely negative impact on employment, which is not recovering and, in fact, is worsening.
12/10/20
The November jobs report reveals a recovery that is stalled due to Senate Republicans’ failure to act. The pace of job increases leaves us far short of where we were before this crisis began. The number of people leaving the workforce entirely is only going up, while those who have already left it but who want a job increased by nearly half a million.
 
12/4/20