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.
House Democratic Whip Steny H. Hoyer (MD) joined 165 House Democrats today in a letter urging Speaker John Boehner not to adjourn the House for the year without bringing up an extension of federal unemployment insurance, which is scheduled to expire December 28.
“I congratulate my friend Rep. Mel Watt on his confirmation as the next Director of the Federal Housing Finance Authority.
There are five days left with the House in session, and time is running out for action on many must-pass legislative items. As the Wall Street Journal explains, Republican leaderships’ history of partisanship and chaos does not bode well for the Republican-led House of Representatives:
For the forty-fifth consecutive month, our economy has added private sector jobs, continuing our recovery and helping to put more Americans back to work. While I am encouraged that our unemployment rate has dropped to 7.0% and that 203,000 jobs – including 196,000 private sector jobs – were added in November, we are not adding jobs at a pace fast enough to provide economic security to every family.
“First of all, let me say, we don't know what the budget parameters and any agreement are going to be. We have heard rumors. You have written about them. We don't know their substance.
"Thank you for being here. We talk in Washington about big numbers - billions, millions - of people. Too infrequently we talk about individuals, the Stans, the Veras, the Lisas of America that our actions affect immediately and directly on a daily basis.
“In his remarks today, President Obama highlighted the challenge of growing income inequality, which poses a danger not only to our long-term economic competitiveness and prosperity but to the very nature of our country as a beacon of equal opportunity for all.
A new poll by United Technologies/National Journal Congressional Connection shows Americans continue to agree with Democrats and believe Congress should be focused on creating jobs rather than Republicans’ continued obsession with undermining the Affordable Care Act:
A look at the first session of the 113th Congress shows that the Republican-led House of Representatives has not made progress on issues important to the American people. With 8 legislative days remaining in this year, the Republican leadership is poised to leave a long to-do list of critical legislation unfinished.
“This morning’s Institute for Supply Management report shows the strongest gains for manufacturing in two and a half years, building on last month’s solid gains and proving that our manufacturers have what it takes to make it in America.