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.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics report released today, 267,000 new private sector jobs were created in January, marking the fifty-ninth consecutive month of increases and the eleventh consecutive month above 200,000.
On Monday, the President released his budget for Fiscal Year 2016. His budget proposal builds on the strength of our economic recovery to make smart investments that will increase our nation’s competitiveness, while ensuring that working families share in the benefits of the recovery.
Republicans have controlled both the House and the Senate for four weeks, and their record shows that they have focused on extreme, partisan legislation rather than taking action to help the middle class and all those who aspire to it.
I’m proud to be joining my colleagues here today to re-introduce the Federal Employee Paid Parental Leave Act.
Today’s Budget and Economic Outlook report by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office shows how much progress we have made over the past few years to bring down budget deficits – yet it also reminds us how much work is left to tackle our long-term, structural debt.
This evening, President Obama laid out a vision of an America that prioritizes a strong and growing middle class.
Since President Obama took office, our nation has seen a jobs recovery that has created over 11 million jobs over fifty-eight consecutive months of private sector job growth.
One of the things [Secretary] Larry Summers said that I absolutely agree with is confidence is in and of itself an economic booster, and what we've been doing in Washington for too many years is undermining confidence.
‘Save American Workers’ – make sure they don't lose purchasing power.
Today, the House will vote to reauthorize the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act, which expired on December 31 after the Senate failed to pass the House’s bill, which passed with a strong bipartisan vote of 417-7.