U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Ranking Member of the Joint Economic Committee, delivered the following statement at today’s hearing on social capital. Read his remarks as prepared for delivery.
That's what a new report from the U.S. Congress Joint Economic Committee ventured to find out. The report shows a typical U.S. family will spend more than 15 percent of its total income on infant child care alone. In Alabama, the average family with an infant spends $5,644 a year for childcare. With a median income of $53,146, that means roughly 11 percent of the family's income goes towards childcare. The yearly cost drops slightly - to $4,877 - once a child reaches four-years-old.
May 17 2017
Bloomberg - Trump’s $1 Trillion Plan Helps Wall Street More Than Rural America, Democrats Warn
Now, a group of congressional Democrats say they have a better solution for what ails the vast stretches of the country outside the cities and suburbs. Among other things, they oppose President Trump's plan to use public-private partnerships to carry out $1 trillion in infrastructure investment over a decade. "Wall Street investors and private equity firms are going to put money, time and resources where they can make a big profit," and that's not the countryside, Senator Martin Heinrich, the top Democrat on Congress's Joint Economic Committee, wrote in remarks prepared for the release of a report called Understanding Economic Challenges in Rural America.
May 17 2017
Heinrich Statement on Republican Hearing Witness
I am deeply disappointed that my Republican colleagues chose to invite a witness to testify who has questioned the intelligence of minorities and women. This is beyond offensive and out of touch. While the topic of social capital is important, giving someone like Mr. Murray a platform is irresponsible. We should instead have a productive discussion focused on making sure that all Americans have a fair shot at getting ahead.
Joint Economic Committee Democrats released a new report today on the economic challenges in rural America. In recent years, rural and urban communities experienced developments in the U.S. economy in vastly different ways. Congress’s work on economic development, infrastructure, and education must tailor approaches to meet the unique challenges facing rural communities.
May 16 2017
Politico Pro - Heinrich: Rural America's infrastructure fix can't be just public-private partnerships
The Trump administration since the election has shifted the conversation on investing in U.S. infrastructure toward public-private partnerships and tax credits for corporations, but that isn't always a realistic way to meet rural America's needs, Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) said today.
The typical American family spends 15 percent of its income on child care — and President Donald Trump will do little to change this “affordability crisis,” according to a new report by the U.S. Congress Joint Economic Committee. “Unfortunately, too many families currently cannot afford high-quality child care, and the Trump administration’s policies will not help these families,” the authors write.
If you’ve long felt that you’re paying a lot for child care in Colorado, congrats! The U.S. Congress Joint Economic Committee has validated that feeling with a new report. Colorado is third among the top 10 states with the highest average annual costs of infant care at an average of $14,950, topped only by the District of Columbia at $22,658 and Massachusetts at $17,082.
Yet the effects of high-quality, affordable child care are vastly beneficial, and a report released exclusively to Glamour on Thursday by the Democratic staff of the Congress Joint Economic Committee (JEC), titled "The State of Child Care in America," proves it. Aside from increasing both employment and education opportunities for mothers, access to top-caliber child care correlates with an increase in earnings for a woman throughout her career. This is particularly true for low-income mothers who stand to earn an additional $90,000 over the course of their careers if they have access to child care.
A new report released on Thursday by the Democratic members of the U.S. Congress Joint Economic Committee (JEC) on the state of childcare in America finds that access to high-quality early learning childcare is more critical than ever for American families — and even more difficult to find.