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.
MESSAGE FROM THE DEMOCRATIC WHIP
Today we concluded another week under this “do-nothing” Republican Congress with no action on critical legislation. Once again, House Republicans refused to take up comprehensive legislation that would create jobs or restore certainty to our economy. They are now heading home for their ninth recess, despite calls from Democrats urging the House of Representatives to stay in session to address critical legislation.&
Mr. Speaker, some of the most pressing legislative items were nowhere to be found on the Floor this week. We had an opportunity to make headway on critical legislation. Unfortunately, the leadership provided no action. Not solutions, not action, only obstruction and delay.
We here in the Democratic Whip Press shop thought we’d pass along a few questions you may want to ask Speaker Boehner and Leader Cantor at today’s press conference:
Just as we’ve been saying since the GOP released their Summer Agenda, today’s New York Times Editorial takes House Republicans to task for their misplaced priorities, taking up political bills instead of focusing on restoring our economy and creating jobs.
Some highlights:
Today, Speaker Boehner suggested the possibility of a six month extension of the highway bill, after his own House Republicans have failed to coalesce around a bill, despite months of deliberations.
Boehner then:
Now is the time to come together and pass a comprehensive highway bill, not another temporary extension, as Speaker Boehner suggested today as a possibility. House Republicans should not walk away from their responsibilities and kick the can down the road, without offering solutions. We should be focused on giving businesses certainty and reaching a bipartisan, bicameral agreement to move forward on a highway bill, especially after the Senate passed an overwhelmingly bipartisan bill in March.
From Washington D.C. to Washington State, the public outcry over the GOP’s stall tactics on the highway bill continues to grow. Despite the fact that 28,000 construction jobs were lost last month, House Republicans continue to threaten to walk away from negotiations unless they get absolutely everything they want.
Right now, in this room, many of you are busy typing away on your smartphones, broadcasting snippets of information to the remotest corners of our world. Texting, tweeting, email – all have become ubiquitous tools in the transfer of information and the latest step in the march of innovation. We live at an exciting moment when we can feel the pulse of change literally in our fingertips.
As our economy continues its recovery, House Republicans have rolled out a summer agenda that ignores job creation and does not address a number of critical items. Two items expire at the end of this month: a surface transportation reauthorization bill – which the Senate passed with an overwhelming bipartisan vote – and legislation to stop student loan interest rates from doubling on July 1. House Republicans are also holding an extension of the middle class tax cuts hostage to tax cuts for the wealthy, despite the need for families to have certainty that their taxes will not increase next year.
CBO’s Long-Term Budget Outlook makes it abundantly clear that our long-term structural problems should be just as concerning as the looming fiscal cliff, including the budget sequester, facing us at the end of this year. CBO’s report is a warning that we must get our fiscal house in order by achieving big and balanced deficit reduction that includes both spending and revenues. Cutting domestic spending alone won’t work, and it will require both parties working together. I still believe this is a goal we must pursue in Congress this year – and one that is achievable. Doing so would provide certainty to businesses that have been holding back investment and could constitute the single greatest stimulus to our economy and job creation.