Jobs & the Economy
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.
Republicans may want to check out a poll released by Quinnipiac University today showing that Americans trust President Obama more than congressional Republicans on the economy and agree with the President that deficit reduction must be done in a balanced way – not on the backs of seniors and the middle class.
Wanted to be sure you saw this editorial in the Washington Post today on debt limit negotiations. It highlights the opportunity that would be lost if we do not work together on a comprehensive package to seriously address America’s fiscal challenges, which is what Democrats continue to fight for as negotiations proceed.
Today, two business leaders, US Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Thomas Donohue and Financial Services Forum President and CEO Robert Nichols, warned of the consequences of a default in a USA Today op-ed, putting pressure on Republicans to avoid the catastrophic consequences that would occur.
According to Donohue and Nicols, failing to ensure we pay America’s bills would mean:
The jobs report released last week disappointed a lot of Americans, and I’m one of them. Our private sector added 57,000 jobs in June, but with public-sector layoffs across the country, the total number of jobs created added up to just 18,000. To be sure, that’s far better than the situation our country faced as President Obama took office, when we were losing nearly three-quarters of a million jobs per month. Since then, our economy has been steadily adding jobs, and our private sector has grown for 16 straight months. But that’s hardly any consolation to the millions of Americans who are still out of work, still suffering the effects of 2008’s financial crisis. What can we do to make their future brighter?
Today’s White House meeting was constructive and progress was made. The announcement from Moody’s earlier today makes the case that these debt negotiations need to produce a meaningful outcome that will bring down the deficit in a balanced way and ensure we pay our bills, rather than producing just a simple political solution. That is the President’s clear priority in these meetings and I share that view.
A sprawling coalition of Wall Street and Main Street business leaders sent an unmistakable message to lawmakers Tuesday: Enough squabbling. Get the debt ceiling raised.
I strongly oppose Republicans’ proposed balanced budget amendment, and I will be whipping against it. By enshrining Republican policy priorities in the Constitution—and by making it historically difficult to raise revenue or raise the debt ceiling in order to pay our bills—the Republican amendment would impose severe hardship on millions of Americans. More than even the radical, Medicare-ending budget passed earlier this year, it would require drastic and harmful cuts to programs like Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security, programs that form the heart of America’s social compact. Unlike previous balanced budget amendments, this amendment would mean great pain for ordinary Americans, even as it shielded the most privileged from any comparable sacrifice. It is not a solution to our nation’s pressing fiscal challenges.
Just who are Republican leaders taking their marching orders from on the debt limit negotiations? It certainly isn’t the American people.
My thoughts are with all those killed and injured in today’s heinous attacks in Mumbai, India. India is a crucial ally and friend of the United States, and I have confidence that its people will show resilience and courage in the face of terrorism, which only attempts to sow fear. Attacks like today’s can, tragically, end lives; but they cannot destroy India’s commitment to the principles that have made it a thriving democracy. I look forward to the day when the perpetrators of these attacks are brought to justice, and I know that America stands by India in this time of need.
Today, Federal Reserve Chairman warned of the “tremendous” consequences if Congress fails to ensure we pay America’s bills.
Key point: "It is a concern," he said before the House Financial Services Committee on Wednesday. He warned that a default on government bonds would send "shock waves through the entire global financial system.”
The Hill