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.
I rise in support of this legislation. I am a strong supporter, as many of you know, of what we call it our Make It In America agenda. Make It In America simply means we are going to provide jobs, we are going to provide opportunities, and we are going to build the manufacturing sector of our economy. In order to do that we also need to enhance the inventive, innovative, and development phases of our economy. This bill, I think, will facilitate this.
We must keep moving forward with talks so that we can quickly take action to reach a balanced deal that reduces our deficit, includes spending cuts and revenues, and ensures that we pay America’s bills.
American manufacturing helped make this the most prosperous country on earth—and it helped build a strong middle class. As we continue to focus on job creation and economic growth, I believe a key part of that effort must be rebuilding our manufacturing strength. That’s why House Democrats have created the Make It In America agenda: it’s about creating the conditions for American businesses to innovate here, create jobs here, make products here, and sell them to the world—and about making sure we have a workforce qualified for well-paying jobs. I believe strongly that when we make more products in America, more families will be able to Make It In America, as well.
Despite Republican claims that they have been “laser-focused” on job creation, their actions have not lived up to their rhetoric. Republicans have been in the majority for six months and have not presented a comprehensive strategy to create jobs. Instead, the bills they have brought to the Floor are more focused on their partisan agenda than actually helping create jobs and grow the economy. These ideological bills have little chance of becoming law.
Today, the Joint Economic Committee held an important hearing, titled 'Manufacturing in the USA: Why We Need a National Manufacturing Strategy.' I strongly agree about the importance of manufacturing to the American economy, and I thank the JEC for calling attention to this issue. Manufacturing is crucial to our economic competitiveness, our leadership in innovation, and the future of our middle class. That's why it is essential that America develop a manufacturing strategy, just as competitors like China and Germany have. I am a strong supporter of the Make It In America agenda, which includes the National Manufacturing Strategy Act--a bill introduced by Congressman Dan Lipinski that directs the president to develop a national manufacturing strategy. I hope that both Republicans and Democrats can come together to implement this agenda and create manufacturing jobs.
Today’s long-term budget outlook shows the urgent need to get our nation’s deficit under control. Without action, our debt will grow to be larger than the economy within the next decade: publicly held debt is projected to increase from 69% of GDP today to 101% in 2021, and twice as large by 2037. CBO described the path of debt as ‘unsustainable,’ and the longer we wait to act, the worse the problem becomes. That’s why I hope the Biden group will produce a balanced approach to start reducing the deficit now, while putting in place a process to get our budget back on track over the long-term.
Last week, leading economic officials joined business leaders, economists and Wall Street executives who have warned about the consequences of suggestions that America may not pay its bills.
House Republicans argue that they have been “laser focused” on jobs but after six months in the majority, Republicans have not brought a single jobs bill to the Floor. Here’s a look at what they have pursued since taking the majority—a divisive agenda that has not lived up to the Republican pledge that job creation would be a top priority.