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.
“Everything's on the table. That doesn't mean we're for what's going to be on the table, but we need to have a full consideration of the whole gamut of things that are creating this issue and that can solve this issue. We need to not go over the fiscal cliff. We need to come to an agreement, and the President, I think, is working hard to get there.”
I am deeply disappointed that Republican legislators in Michigan today passed two so-called ‘right-to-work’ bills that erode the hard-won right of unions to organize workers for better wages and conditions. President Obama was right yesterday when he characterized this move as having nothing to do with economics and everything to do with politics. These bills represent the type of class warfare that puts profits before the needs of hard-working Americans; they will not grow our middle class or help families who have struggled throughout the economic downturn. By weakening the bargaining strength of labor unions, these bills undermine the relationships forged over many years in Michigan between labor and management, and in the past Governor Rick Snyder has called ‘right-to-work’ legislation divisive and inappropriate. I urge him to reconsider his stated intention to sign these bills into law.
As we get closer to the deadline to reach a solution to the fiscal cliff, a growing number of Republicans have publicly supported the idea of passing middle class tax cuts now to protect families and small businesses from a tax increase on January 1 while negotiations continue on higher tax rates for the wealthiest two percent in our country:
MESSAGE FROM THE DEMOCRATIC WHIP
Today’s jobs report showed that our economy is improving, but to solidify our economic recovery, Congress must act swiftly to avert the fiscal cliff, extend middle class tax cuts, and promote job creation through proposals like Democrats’ Make It In America jobs legislation.
In a sign of continuing progress in our recovery, the Bureau of Labor Statistics report released this morning shows that our economy added 147,000 private sector jobs in November, causing the unemployment rate to drop to 7.7%. With thirty-three consecutive months of private sector job growth, more Americans are getting back to work. However, despite this month's strong gains, too many remain unemployed, and we have work left to do to solidify our economic recovery.
Today, the Senate ensured that U.S. companies will have better access to the Russian market when it passed H.R. 6156 by a strong, bipartisan vote of 92-4. By granting Permanent Normal Trade Relations with Russia, Congress has provided the President the tools needed to ensure Russia follows World Trade Organization rules and the market access commitments it has made. This will help create a level playing field for American businesses and workers seeking to export to the growing Russian market. In addition, this bill provides for tougher sanctions against those officials responsible for violating human rights and basic freedoms, including those involved in the tragic death of Sergei Magnitsky. I look forward to seeing President Obama sign this bill into law and take the steps it makes available to enforce fair trade rules that benefit American businesses and the jobs they create.
More and more Republicans are joining the chorus calling for a balanced, bipartisan solution to the fiscal cliff that protects middle-class families while asking the wealthiest to pay their fair share through higher tax rates. As Dana Milibank says in his Washington Post column:
The executive order, signed today by President Obama, creating an Interagency Task Force on Commercial Advocacy will help American businesses compete more effectively overseas. This is an important step in the ongoing effort by this Administration to ensure a level playing field for American companies seeking to do business abroad and export their goods.
When I say everything needs to be on the table… I want everybody to put their cards on the table and tell me what they’re going to do. … Now there’s some things we are absolutely not going to do… we’re not going to voucherize Medicare, we are not going to privatize Social Security. We believe very strongly that we need additional revenues if we’re going to get our country on a fiscally sound basis.
“All I said yesterday was … we need a balanced package and we need to all come to the table honestly, realizing we have differences of opinion, but also realizing this is a math problem. It shouldn't be a philosophical problem or ideological or partisan problem, it's a math problem. We have to get America on a fiscally sustainable path and in order to do that, we’re going to have to have a balanced package. We’re going to have to look at additional revenues.”