The National Park System in Arizona each year draws 12 million visitors, who spend almost $1 billion and support more than 15,000 jobs, according to new fact sheets by Democratic Party members of the Joint Economic Committee in Congress.

Today Joint Economic Committee Democrats launched a new podcast entitled “Opportunity Agenda” to reach audiences in every corner of the country and further the conversation on building an economic future for American families to have the opportunity to succeed. Episode 1 of the podcast is a conversation about the challenges facing the U.S. workforce following a JEC hearing this week on the topic. The podcast features an interview with Democratic hearing witness, Dr. Betsey Stevenson of the University of Michigan.

Democrats on Congress' Joint Economic Committee released an analysis this week that looked at the budget cuts states would have to undertake if they wanted to maintain Medicaid funding at its current levels if the 35 percent cut occurred. Connecticut, for example, would have to cut higher education funding by 45 percent or transportation funding by 58 percent to bridge the gap, according to the report.

U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Ranking Member of the Joint Economic Committee, delivered the following statement at today’s hearing entitled “A Record Six Million U.S. Job Vacancies: Reasons and Remedies.” Ranking Member Heinrich emphasized in his opening statement the importance of investing in education and training options in order for workers to remain competitive in the future economy.