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Joint Economic Committee Democrats Chairman - Senator Martin Heinrich (D-NM)

Issue Briefs

Sep 27 2021

Breaching the Debt Ceiling Could Harm Millions of Americans and Produce Economic Devastation

The U.S. economy is again facing the grave threat of a breach of the debt limit. Past debt-limit brinkmanship crises inflicted substantial uncertainty on businesses, drove huge declines in the stock market and consumer confidence and led to higher borrowing costs for taxpayers and consumers. Debt-limit brinksmanship resulted in the first-ever downgrade of the U.S. credit rating and cost the country billions of dollars in lost economic activity, even though a default was ultimately avoided.

Sep 23 2021

Strong Care Infrastructure Is Critical to Increasing Labor Force Participation and Driving Future Economic Growth

Strong labor force participation is a key input to economic growth, but the labor force participation rate in the United States among both men and women has fallen in recent decades. While women’s labor force participation had increased dramatically over the course of the second half of the 20th century as gender norms changed, women pursued more education and wage stagnation necessitated two incomes to support household income, it stalled and even declined after 2000. A critical cause of this decline is the lack of structural support for women’s full economic participation.

Sep 16 2021

Updated SNAP Benefit Levels Will Help 42 Million People and Add $31.8 Billion in Local Economic Activity Every Year

The recent U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) review of the Thrifty Food Plan will result in increased benefits under the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), helping 42 million people afford food. This review, mandated under the bipartisan 2018 Farm Bill, will permanently increase the maximum SNAP benefit 21% above pre-pandemic levels. The increased benefit levels will result in an estimated $31.8 billion annually in additional economic activity, helping small businesses and local farms.

Emergency food programs enacted during the coronavirus pandemic were vital to working families who lost jobs through no fault of their own, and SNAP is projected to keep almost 8 million people out of poverty in 2021. Permanently increasing benefits under SNAP will benefit the whole economy as it helps individuals, working families, seniors and disabled people, and provides long-term benefits for low-income children.

Sep 13 2021

Expanding the Housing Choice Voucher Program to Improve Housing Affordability and Economic Security for the Lowest-Income Families

The economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic has shone additional light on the ongoing housing affordability crisis that affects millions of low-income renters each year, along with the associated risks of eviction, homelessness and financial insecurity. A significant expansion of the Housing Choice Voucher (HCV) program, which provides rental support to the most disadvantaged families, would help address this crisis. Doing so will reduce poverty, increase housing stability and support the broader economy. Though significant investments in housing supply are needed to fully address the housing crisis, vouchers are the best policy option to ensure the lowest-income Americans can quickly access stable housing.

Sep 13 2021

National and State Level Data on the Economic Situation of Hispanic Americans

Despite measured progress over the past few decades, Hispanic Americans continue to lag behind white Americans in earnings, working conditions and wealth. Hispanic workers are overrepresented in jobs that were on the frontlines of the pandemic—like healthcare and agriculture—which helped keep the U.S. economy afloat during the worst of the public health and economic crises. At the same time, Hispanic families and businesses were disproportionally affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and the recession it caused, exacerbating longstanding structural inequalities. Hispanic Americans responded to these challenges with resilience by risking their lives to perform the essential work of caring for others, maintaining the national food supply and keeping our economic recovery alive.

Recognizing both the contributions and challenges of the Hispanic community is vital to ensuring that every American can realize the promise of the America Dream.