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Joint Economic Committee Democrats

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Sep 07 2018

Heinrich Statement on August Jobs Report

“Our workforce continues to gain jobs, but many working families, particularly in rural areas, are still struggling to get by. Wages have been stagnant for years, yet corporations have amassed record growth and profits. Nearly 40 percent of American families struggle to meet a basic need, like food, housing, health care, and utilities. It is clear that too many Americans are being left behind in our economy."

Sep 06 2018

Heinrich Opening Statement at JEC Hearing on Republican Tax Law

U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Ranking Member of the Joint Economic Committee, delivered the following statement at today’s hearing on the impact of the Republican tax plan on the economy. In his remarks, Senator Heinrich highlighted that the Republican tax cuts are mostly benefiting the wealthy and doing little for working Americans.

Sep 04 2018

Op-ed: A thriving NM means supporting small businesses. Here's how. (Albuquerque Business First)

Our nation’s small businesses support the upward mobility and wealth building that are cornerstones of the American dream, while training future leaders and spreading American ingenuity all over the globe. New Mexican innovators are gritty, determined and doing everything they can to be competitive. We should put our full weight behind them, building on their successes, and continue to show that New Mexico small businesses refuse to be left behind.

Aug 30 2018

NY Times - Paul Krugman: For Whom the Economy Grows

Quite a lot, suggest Senators Chuck Schumer and Martin Heinrich. This week they introduced a bill that would direct the Bureau of Economic Analysis, which produces estimates of gross domestic product, to produce estimates telling us who benefits from growth — for example, how much is going to the middle class. This is a really good idea.

Aug 28 2018

Politicus USA - Senate Democrats Introduce Bill That Pops Trump’s Economic Propaganda Bubble

As Sen. Heinrich said, “Instead of focusing on one economic indicator closely watched by investors, we should be examining data that captures why many families are still struggling to make ends meet. Only looking at headline GDP growth numbers to assess the state of our economy simply does not paint the whole picture, and leaves out the reality that many Americans have not seen their wages rise for years. Our priority should be ensuring that every New Mexican – and every American – can succeed in today’s economy. This legislation would provide Congress with the information to take real steps needed to finally address income inequality and the economic needs of all Americans.”

Aug 28 2018

Vox - Senate Democrats want the government to say if GDP growth is helping the middle class

But those gaps don’t show up in official measurements like the GDP, which measures growth in the overall economy. Now Democratic Sens. Chuck Schumer and Martin Heinrich are trying to change that. On Tuesday they are introducing a new bill that seeks to shed light on how economic growth in the United States is shaking out for individual Americans.

The idea, they say, is to shed light on where economic prosperity is showing up across different income groups — and, potentially, where it’s not. The bill, the Measuring Real Income Growth Act of 2018, would require the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), which releases quarterly GDP numbers, to also report how growth is distributed along the income scale. The bureau would have to put together distributional measures of economic growth to be released with quarterly and annual GDP reports starting in 2020, laying out how growth shows up across each decile of earners and the top 1 percent.

Aug 28 2018

Schumer, Heinrich Introduce Legislation to Require New Income Growth Data Alongside Quarterly GDP Reports

Today, Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Ranking Member of the Joint Economic Committee, introduced the Measuring Real Income Growth Act of 2018, which would require the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) to report how economic growth is distributed across the income spectrum. This data would help to put quarterly GDP growth numbers in context, as it would provide a breakdown of the economic benefits seen by individuals across different segments of the economy. In short, this bill would provide policymakers with metrics that better reflect the economic experiences of all Americans, not just top income earners.

Aug 23 2018

JEC Democrats Podcast Episode 7: Examining What’s at Stake With the CFPB

Today, Joint Economic Committee Democrats launched the seventh episode of “Opportunity Agenda,” a podcast that furthers the conversation on how to build an economic future where all American families have a fair shot at getting ahead. Episode 7, “Examining What’s at Stake With the CFPB,” looks at the actions that the Trump administration have taken at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) that are harming consumers, instead of protecting them as the agency is charged to do. The podcast comes ahead of today’s Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs hearing on the president’s nominee for CFPB director, Kathy Kraninger.

Aug 07 2018

Bloomberg - Republican Pitch on Robust Economy a Hard Sell in Regions Left Behind "

"People always ask, ‘Are we better off than we were two years ago?’ And the answer is yes."… "When I talk to people, they say they are not feeling the economic prosperity," said Senator Martin Heinrich of New Mexico, the top Democrat on the Joint Economic Committee. “Americans are not seeing the wage growth that they were promised from the tax cuts."

Aug 03 2018

Newsweek - Trump’s Tax Plan is Failing to Give American Workers the Wage Growth he Promised

Friday’s jobs report showed unemployment at 3.9 percent, an 18-year low. But even with historic lows, workers' pay has only increased by 2.7 percent since last year. With inflation hovering around 2 percent, that’s an adjusted 0.7 percent growth in earnings. A wage earner would have to bring in more than $570,000 to see that promised $4,000 increase in pay. Instead, the average worker is seeing a weekly pay raise of just $16.42. “This jobs report provides the latest evidence that the Republican tax law has done little to raise real wages in this country,” said Senator Martin Heinrich, ranking member of the Joint Economic Committee, in a statement.