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Joint Economic Committee Democrats

Issue Briefs

Jun 23 2026

Increased Uptake of Business Tax Cuts Could Help Address Child Care Shortages

Parents in the United States face a child care system plagued by workforce shortages, long
waiting lists, and expensive care. Parents can wait as long as two years for a childcare slot that costs $13,184 a year on average per child across age and type of care and often costs much more. Businesses, the economy, and the strength of America’s workforce suffer due to these challenges. The Bipartisan Policy Center estimates that the lack of affordable and reliable childcare will cost the U.S. economy as much as $329 billion over the next ten years. This cost is paid for by families and businesses alike.

Jun 11 2026

PRESCRIPTION FOR HARM: DRUG-RELATED CONTENT AND MODERATION EFFORTS ON THE SPOTIFY PLATFORM

U.S. Senator Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Ranking Member of the Joint Economic Committee, released today the results of her investigation into scams and drug-related content on Spotify, a major music streaming service. The report details the company’s efforts to identify and take action against more than 57,000 podcast episodes with drug-related content, but also notes that Spotify only took these actions after extensive public reporting and correspondence between Spotify and the Joint Economic Committee - Minority over the course of the investigation. Spotify also did not report to law enforcement any of the content that it removed in the six-month period that the Committee investigated.

May 21 2026

Joint Economic Committee Leaders Raise Anti-Scam Efforts with Major Telecommunications Companies

U.S. Congress Joint Economic Committee Chairman David Schweikert (R-AZ) and Ranking Member Maggie Hassan (D-NH) today urged three major telecommunications companies to strengthen their anti-scams efforts. Chairman Schweikert and Ranking Member Hassan requested detailed information from AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon about their current strategies to identify and curb scams. Their outreach follows testimony from administration officials and key experts at a bipartisan Committee hearing in March that focused on the threats posed by well-resourced, ever-evolving criminal scam operations.

May 15 2026

Opt-Out Obstacles: Concerning Practices by Registered Data Brokers and the Multi-Billion-Dollar Cost of Breaches

The Joint Economic Committee - Minority announced today that, following a Congressional investigation, Findem, a data broker, has updated its data collection opt-out processes to make it easier for people to protect their personal data. Findem’s actions occurred after an investigation by U.S. Senator Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Ranking Member of the Joint Economic Committee, into the challenges that consumers face from data brokers and their convoluted opt-out practices, as well as the overall role of data brokers in preventing breaches and related scams.

May 13 2026

JEC Ranking Member Hassan Releases Response to the Economic Report of the President

Senator Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Ranking Member of the Joint Economic Committee, announced today the release of the Minority portion of the Committee’s annual response to the Economic Report of the President. The Committee is required by law to submit findings and recommendations in response to the Report, which is prepared and released each year by the Council of Economic Advisers (CEA).

May 07 2026

Smallest Businesses Lost 4.5x More Jobs in 2025 than 2020 Amid Trump’s Tariffs

The Joint Economic Committee - Minority issued a report today on the impact of President Trump’s tariffs, which have driven up costs and triggered economic uncertainty for America’s small businesses. The report includes new Committee data, including that the smallest businesses lost 4.5 times more jobs in 2025 than during the pandemic in 2020. This report comes during National Small Business Week, which runs from May 3 – 9, 2026.

May 04 2026

Under Trump, Declining Travel and Tourism is Hitting Local Economies Throughout the United States

The Joint Economic Committee – Minority analyzed data from the federal government, states,
and industry to see how Trump’s tariffs and other actions have impacted the U.S. travel and
tourism economy. The Committee found that during the Trump administration, American
businesses in nearly every part of the country have seen fewer domestic and international
tourists, harming state and local communities that depend on tourism revenue.

Apr 23 2026

Trump’s Tariffs Are Crushing the Small Businesses That Make Up the U.S. Manufacturing Base

In his inauguration speech, President Trump promised to make the U.S. “a manufacturing nation once again.” One year later, his administration’s policies are having the opposite effect. Since the start of Trump’s second term, the U.S. manufacturing sector has lost 102,000 jobs and factory construction has steadily declined, with especially notable drops appearing after the April 2025 “Liberation Day” tariff announcements. President Trump’s actions have harmed the manufacturing sector overall, and the economic strain has been especially high for smaller manufacturers.