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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.


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Tonight, President Obama made a compelling case for an economic recovery plan with the power to create or save up to 4 million American jobs.
The Clinton administration delivered the nation into the 21st century with a record budget surplus. In eight years, President Bush and Republican Congresses squandered the budget opportunities they inherited and turned them into the worst deficits in American history.
Today’s news that the economy lost 598,000 jobs last month follows weeks of layoff announcements and record numbers of Americans filing for unemployment benefits.
Today, the Department of Labor announced the U.S. economy lost 598,000 jobs in January, the largest one-month decline since 1974, and the unemployment rate hit 7.6%, its highest point in 16 years.
As Congress continues work on the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, it is clear that we cannot have a full economic recovery until the financial crisis is addressed.
Today, in the midst of the greatest economic crisis since the Great Depression, and as Congress considers the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, it is telling to look back and examine the pattern of Republican failures on economic policy.
Today, the House passed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to address the problems facing the economy and put Americans back to work.
Today’s news that our nation had its sharpest economic contraction in over a quarter-century is further confirmation that swift and bold action is needed to get our economy moving again.
As you know, we are dealing with one of the worst economic climates in memory: 2.6 million jobs lost last year; the worst housing market since the Great Depression; financial turmoil that has threatened the savings and retirements of millions.