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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.


Related

Today, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce published a new “Above the Fold” post highlighting the devastating impact Republicans’ decision to shut down the Export-Import Bank is having on American businesses’ ability to create jobs and compete in the global marketplace.

They note:

General Electric Co. says Republicans in Congress “left us no choice” but to move 500 American jobs overseas. Their decision was prompted by Republicans’ shutdown of the Export-Import Bank earlier this summer. How many U.S. jobs have to be lost before the self-described “party of jobs” stops threatening our economic competiveness and reopens the Bank?

We wanted to make sure you saw the latest push from business community leaders urging Republicans in Congress to acknowledge the Export-Import Bank’s proven economic benefits and to reopen it immediately. From The Hill:

A top business group on Monday urged congressional lawmakers to pass a multi-year bill reviving the Export-Import Bank.”

As a result of our failure to fund the Export-Import Bank and to reauthorize the Export-Import Bank, we are losing jobs, and we have lost a substantial number of jobs already.

MESSAGE FROM THE DEMOCRATIC WHIP

Following the August District Work Period, Members of the House returned to session earlier this week with a long list of critical legislative priorities that require immediate action from Congress.

With Congress returning to session today, House Democrats, dozens of House Republicans, and business owners across the country will continue to urge Republican leaders to stop their ideological crusade against the Export-Import Bank and bring to the Floor legislation to re-open the Bank without delay.

This morning’s jobs report once again shows an economy adding private sector jobs, with 140,000 created in August, representing the sixty-sixth consecutive month of private sector job gains - and the unemployment rate falling to 5.1%.  

As House Republicans attempt to explain to their constituents why they decided to shut down the Export-Import Bank and harm our economic competitiveness, take a look at a roundup of recent articles on how Republicans’ politically motivated shutdown is negatively affecting businesses across the country.

Today’s jobs report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics marks the sixty-fifth consecutive month of private sector job growth.

WASHINGTON, DC - House Democratic Whip Steny H. Hoyer (MD) released the following statement today on the advanced estimate of the GDP in the second quarter: