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.
Today, Treasury Secretary Geithner informed Congress that, unless we act to ensure that America pays the bills that it has incurred, our country will approach its debt ceiling by May 16. Extraordinary efforts by the Treasury Department may allow for a reprieve through about August 2. In any case, the responsibility of Congress is the same. Reaching the debt ceiling is still imminent—and the consequences of failing to act, and defaulting on our debts, would still be catastrophic for the American and world economies. We must take what Speaker Boehner has called the ‘adult’ course of action and pay our bills.
House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer is taking on the mantle of deal-maker in the Democratic Caucus, a role that will be highlighted in the upcoming debt limit fight.
While this marks the seventh straight quarter of economic growth, it is clear that more must be done to spur the economy and create jobs. To both keep the economy growing and speed up that growth, we cannot do anything that subjects the economy to unnecessary uncertainty. Yet Republicans continue to hold the economy hostage to their partisan and divisive agenda by threatening to default on our nations’ debts – despite the fact that much of the debt that’s been run up was as a result of their policies. I hope today’s news will prompt Republicans to stop putting our economy at risk. I also hope it will remind Republicans that we need to take action on job creation. It’s disappointing that after four months in the majority Republicans have failed to bring a single jobs bill to the Floor, despite their promises that it was their top priority.
But there's a paradox to Boehner's success. The speaker hasn't achieved these goals solely because of the 87 GOP freshmen elected last fall. He's pulled it off because in each case, he got help from the Democrats.
Democrats aren’t the only ones telling House Republicans they cannot hold the debt limit hostage for a partisan, divisive agenda. Wall Street executives and the business community, economists, and Republicans and conservative commentators agree that failing to raise the debt ceiling and defaulting on our debt, or even coming close to defaulting on our debt, would put our economic recovery at great risk.
I am pleased to hear that the U.S. and Panamanian governments have resolved outstanding issues around the U.S.-Panama Trade Promotion Agreement, and are ready to take the next steps to advance this agreement. Panama remains a close and important ally in Latin America, and this Agreement will further strengthen our relationship. It will also open doors for American exports, which will help create more American jobs.
If you're feeling overwhelmed this Tax Day, you're not alone. The complexity of our tax code isn't just a nuisance for families and businesses -- it's a drag on our entire economy. Each year, Americans spend billions of dollars and more than 225 million collective hours doing their taxes. And each year, there's talk of making our tax code far simpler, talk that rarely goes anywhere. This year, however, there is a real chance that we can turn our overwhelming tax code into a simpler one that unleashes productivity, saves families time and money, helps us create jobs, and reduces the deficit.
House Democrats launched a surprise procedural offensive on a budget plan Friday in an effort to put conservative Republicans on the spot – and fell just nine votes of succeeding.
House Democrats engaged in a little guerrilla warfare on the floor Friday, forcing Republicans to switch their votes at the last minute to avoid passing the Republican Study Committee’s budget.
When House Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer (D-MD) heard Republicans were going to hold a vote on the extremely conservative Republican Study Committee budget, a lightbulb turned on in his head.