The Economy and Jobs

Our country is facing the worst economic crisis since The Great Depression.  4.4 million American jobs have been lost since this recession began — the culmination of the Bush Administration’s failed economic approach.  We need a New Direction. Congress has passed the final American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which President Obama signed into law on February 17. This legislation will create and save 3 to 4 million jobs, give 95 percent of Americans an immediate tax cut, and invest quickly into the economy – 75 percent in the first 18 months.

Democrats have a broader economic plan that will bring opportunity and fiscal security to all Americans, not just the wealthy few. Democrats have raised the minimum wage, passed economic recovery legislation providing recovery rebates for more than 130 million American families, and extended unemployment insurance for 3.5 million workers. We are working to make health care, energy, and education affordable for all Americans, and address our nation’s foreclosure crisis. 

Democrats are building an economic approach that lifts every American, not just the privileged few. The average American CEO earns more before lunchtime in one day than a minimum wage worker earns all year. This is not the kind of America we want our children to grow up in.

American Recovery and Reinvestment Act

On February 13, the House passed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which was signed into law by President Obama on February 17.  This recovery package is the first crucial step in a concerted effort to create and save 3 to 4 million jobs, jumpstart our economy, and transform it for the 21st century.  This plan means real change: it will strengthen the middle class, not just Wall Street CEOs and special interests in Washington.

On March 6, the Labor Department released statistics showing that 651,000 American jobs were lost in the month of February, with the unemployment rate rising to 8.1 percent, the worst since December 1983.

The chart below compares the job loss so far in this recession to job losses in the 1990-1991 recession and the 2001 recession – showing how dramatic and unprecedented the job loss over the last 14 months has been. Over the last 14 months, our economy has lost a total of 4.4 million jobs – and continuing job losses in the next few months are predicted.

By comparison, we lost a total of 1.6 million jobs in the 1990-1991 recession, before the economy began turning around and jobs began increasing; and we lost a total of 2.7 million jobs in the 2001 recession, before the economy began turning around and jobs began increasing. 

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Learn more about the legislation>>

More than 100 Leaders of Business & Technology Companies Say Investment in America’s I.T. Infrastructure Will Create Nearly 1 Million Jobs>>

News Outlets Across the Country Highlight Impact of American Recovery & Reinvestment Act>>

American Recovery and Reinvestment Act>>

Early Support for the American Recovery & Reinvestment Plan>>
 

Taking Action to Address the Financial Crisis

American consumers and businesses are getting hit hard by the growing economic crisis.  The devastation on Wall Street has a tremendous impact on the hard working middle class.  Families that have already lost value in their homes are nervously watching their life savings lose value as Wall Street’s meltdown continues.  It has affected the way people plan for college, their retirement, the security of their jobs, and their standard of living.

On October 3, the House passed the Economic Rescue Plan/Tax Extender Package, H.R. 1424, and the President signed the bill into law.  Learn more about the legislation>>

Watch House Democrats on the passage of the legislation:

Unfortunately, after Congress enacted this emergency financial rescue package to stabilize the financial markets, the Bush Administration failed to adhere to and enforce many Congressional accountability measures. On January 21, the House passed the TARP Reform and Accountability Act, which amends the Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP) provisions of the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 (EESA). The legislation will strengthen accountability, close loopholes, increase transparency, and require Treasury to take significant steps on foreclosure mitigation. 

The Gavel: Congressional Oversight Panel Recommendations on the Financial Regulatory System>>

Extending Unemployment Insurance

On October 3, the House passed H.R. 6867, Unemployment Compensation Extension Act.  The bill provides an additional 7 weeks of extended unemployment benefits for workers who have exhausted their unemployment benefits (providing 20 total weeks of extended benefits when combined with the 13 weeks provided earlier this year). On November 21, the President signed the bill into law.

Learn more about the Unemployment Compensation Extension Act>>

The bill will provide $62 billion in Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) relief to ease the strain of rising gas and food prices, and is a critical part of our plan to strengthen the American economy.

Learn more about the Alternative Minimum Tax Relief bill>>

Recovery Rebates to Jumpstart America’s Slowing Economy

Congress completed action on, and the White House signed, economic stimulus legislation to help hardworking Americans who are struggling with the high costs of gas, health care and groceries, and to jumpstart our slowing economy and create jobs here at home. Americans have begun receiving Recovery Rebates as a result of the Economic Stimulus package. The package provides rebate checks of up to $600 per individual and $1,200 per married couple, plus an additional $300 per child.
Learn more about Recovery Rebates and Economic Stimulus for the American People>>

This legislation:

• Puts hundreds of dollars into the hands of more than 130 million American families including seniors and disabled veterans – who will spend it immediately to reinvigorate the economy;
• Builds on the child tax credit by offering a one-time rebate of $300 per child;
• Expands financing opportunities for Americans in danger of losing their homes because of the mortgage crisis;
• Promotes small business investment in plants and equipment; and
• Helps create 500,000 jobs by the end of the year.

Getting this bipartisan bill done quickly is a victory for the American people that will inject confidence and consumer demand, promote economic growth, and create jobs.  We will take additional action to help American workers and help our economy recover and grow.

This measure represents the House bill, with 2 additions from the Senate: expanding recovery rebates to an additional 20 million seniors and 250,000 disabled veterans and clarifying that undocumented workers are prohibited from receiving rebates.

Fact Sheet: Experts & Editorials Support Bipartisan Stimulus Plan>>

Fact Sheet: The State of the Economy – Squeezing Hard-Working American Families>>

Lowering Energy Costs

The Democratic-led Congress has been working on behalf of America’s families and businesses to lower energy costs for the American consumer, increase energy independence, enhance our national security, and reduce global warming.

Learn more about Democrats’ work to combat rising gas and energy prices>>

Responding to the Foreclosure Crisis

Problems in the subprime mortgage markets have helped push the housing market into its worst slump in 16 years.  Sales of existing homes fell in August to a five-year low, new-homes sales tumbled to the lowest level in seven years, inventories of unsold single-family homes rose to an 18-year high, and home prices suffered the biggest drop in nearly 37 years.

The 110th Congress is acting to strengthen the housing market and the economy, expand affordable mortgage loan opportunities for families at risk of foreclosure, and strengthen consumer protections against risky loans in the future. We have made real progress – passing crucial reforms to the Federal Housing Administration so it can help people at risk of foreclosure stay in their homes, pushing financial institutions to create more affordable housing options, and working on comprehensive anti-predatory lending legislation to stop these bad loans from being made in the first place–strengthening consumer protections against abusive practices and making sure that consumers get mortgages they can repay. We have held a series of oversight hearings on the subprime crisis, investigating causes and developing solutions.

Learn more about Democrats’ work to address the foreclosure crisis>>

Raising the Minimum Wage

In July 2007, Americans received a long-awaited pay raise. The previous Republican-controlled Congresses blocked minimum wage proposals from being considered. In 2006 alone, Republicans blocked minimum wage legislation from coming to a vote 11 times. The minimum wage increase was passed by the Democratic-led Congress this year and the first pay raise for working Americans in almost 10 years. This raise is part of our New Direction towards shared prosperity, and is a down payment on a broader American agenda for working families.

It is wrong to have millions of Americans working full-time and year-round, yet still living in poverty. The previous minimum wage of $5.15 an hour is simply not enough to cover the needs of the average family as they struggle with increasing costs of child care, education, health insurance, and gasoline prices. The value of the minimum wage has dropped to its lowest level in over half a century. Working full time, a minimum wage worker brings home only $10,712 a year, nearly $6,000 below the poverty level for a family of three. Raising the minimum wage this month means a $4,400 yearly pay raise—money that could pay for 15 months of groceries, or more than two years of health care. It could buy 19 months of utilities, 20 months of child care, or 30 months of college tuition at a public, 2-year college.

Watch a video of House Democratic Leaders and workers across the country on the minimum wage increase: