The Economy
Democrats have an 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 unemplolyment insurance for 3.5 million workers. We are working to make health care, energy, and education affordable for all Americans.
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.
Learn more about Democrats' work to rebuild our economy>>
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.
Significant bipartisan work built consensus around dramatic improvements to the original Bush-Paulson plan to stabilize American financial markets—including requiring a plan to ensure the taxpayer is repaid in full. On September 29, the House voted on the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008. While 205 Members voted for the bill, it failed to receive the necessary votes for passage.
The defeat of the Economic Emergency Stabilization Act resulted in additional severe economic impacts both on Wall Street and on Main Street. The consequences of the vote – an historic drop in the stock market and the loss of $1.2 trillion in savings, investments, and retirement funds – had a major impact on American families, small businesses, and others that demonstrated the imperative for Congressional action.
Democrats continued bipartisan efforts to pass a comprehensive bill to help stabilize our financial system and protect the American taxpayer. On October 3rd, 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:
Extending Unemployment Insurance
The Democratic-led Congress is committed to providing much-needed relief to 3.5 million unemployed workers to assist them with rapidly rising gas and food costs, while they continue to struggle to find work in the slowing economy. On June 12, the House passed the Emergency Extended Unemployment Compensation Act, H.R. 5749. Democrats in Congress have pushed to extend unemployment benefits since the beginning of the year, as the economy weakened, but have faced continued resistance from the Bush Administration. Even with the biggest one-month jump in the unemployment rate in two decades, and huge job losses in the airline and auto industry among others, White House Press Secretary Dana Perino said “…no administration has increased or extended unemployment benefits while unemployment was this low.” [Detroit News, 6/7/08] America’s workers and families can wait no longer, and neither will this Congress.
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.
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
In recent months, the price of oil has continued to skyrocket – reaching $146 per barrel on July 11th. American families feel the pinch of rising oil prices everywhere from the gas pump to the kitchen table and need relief. 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.
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:
In the two years after the initial increase, the minimum wage increases from $5.15 an hour to $7.25 per hour. Thanks to this increase, in 2009 a family of four will move from 11 percent below the poverty line to 5 percent above the poverty line. Nearly 13 million people will benefit from the increase. The minimum wage increase will have a direct positive impact for:
Women. Almost 60 percent of the 13 million workers who will benefit from a minimum wage increase are women.
Minorities. Forty percent of those who will benefit are people of color.
Families. Families with affected workers rely on those workers for more than half of their family’s income. 6.4 million children will see their parents’ income rise.
Military Families. 10% of military spouses earn between $5.15 and $7.25 per hour. 50,000 military families will benefit from an increase in the minimum wage to $7.25 per hour.
Raising the minimum wage is essential to the security of America’s families and children. The new Democratic-led Congress is delivering on our priorities for working families through the minimum wage increase; it is an initial step towards our broader agenda that prioritizes working Americans.
Learn more about the minimum wage increase from the Education and Labor Committee>>
Read the about the July 2007 minimum wage events in The Gavel>>
Speaker Pelosi: Increase in Minimum Wage Signals a New Direction in Our Country>>