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

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Jun 18 2013

New Report Shows Rising Level of Student Debt in America, Highlights Need for Legislation to Stop Student Loan Interest Rates from Doubling

Klobuchar has cosponsored legislation that would prevent interest rates on federally-subsidized Stafford loans from doubling to help keep college affordable

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Vice Chair of the U.S. Congress Joint Economic Committee (JEC), today released a new report that shows a rising level of student debt in America and highlights the need for legislation to stop student loan interest rates from doubling.

Jun 07 2013

Statement from JEC Vice Chair Klobuchar on May 2013 Employment Report

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Vice Chair of the U.S. Congress Joint Economic Committee (JEC), released the following statement today on the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ May 2013 jobs report showing that 175,000 total nonfarm jobs were added and the unemployment rate ticked up from 7.5% to 7.6%, reflecting the fact that more workers are reentering the labor force:

May 22 2013

Ahead of Memorial Day, Klobuchar Releases New Report on Veterans’ Employment

Report shows progress in reducing unemployment rates for veterans, outlines strategies for helping more veterans transition into the civilian workforce

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Vice Chair of the U.S. Congress Joint Economic Committee (JEC), today released a new report examining veterans’ employment and exploring strategies for helping more returning service members make smooth transitions into the workforce.  The report finds that the employment situation for veterans has improved overall and highlights the need to continue to boost job training and help veterans use the skills they learned in the military to get good jobs when they return home.

“There wasn’t a waiting line when our veterans signed up to serve our country and there shouldn’t be a waiting line for decent jobs when they get home,” Klobuchar said. “We need to focus on building job opportunities for veterans by improving training and ensuring these men and women can make a smooth transition into good jobs when they return home.”

The unemployment rate for veterans in 2012 was 7 percent, lower than the non-veteran unemployment rate of 7.9 percent and lower than the recent high for veteran unemployment of 8.7 percent in 2010. Today’s report shows that while post-9/11 veterans faced a higher overall unemployment rate of 9.9 percent in 2012, their rate has fallen at a faster clip than that of nonveterans.
                                                                                                                  
Today’s report outlines the need to focus on strategies to continue to help veterans transition their military experience into civilian jobs, including increased skills training and educational opportunities as well as efforts to streamline the process for obtaining certain certifications and occupational licenses. Additionally, the report stresses the need to ensure returning veterans have access to job search and resume-writing assistance.

Klobuchar has long championed policies to help veterans successfully transition the skills they learned on the battlefield into good-paying civilian jobs. She authored legislation, passed into law last year, to streamline the process for receiving a commercial driver’s license, as well as introduced the Veterans to Paramedics Act, legislation making it easier for veterans who trained as paramedics in the military to earn credentials as emergency medical technicians.

Klobuchar introduced the bipartisan Post-9/11 Veterans Job Training Act to allow veterans to use their GI Bill benefits for job training and apprenticeship programs, provisions that went into effect in 2011.  Also in 2011, Klobuchar helped pass the VOW to Hire Heroes Act into law, legislation promoting the hiring of unemployed veterans by requiring separating service members to participate in career training programs and providing a tax credit to employers who bring unemployed veterans into their workforce.

The full report can be found here.

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May 14 2013

Klobuchar Releases New Report Examining the Impact of Women in U.S. Manufacturing

Report finds manufacturing industry growing by over 500,000 jobs in recent years, creating new opportunities for women in these fields; Klobuchar calls for solutions to bring more women into the industry at a time when employers are looking for the right skills and experience

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Vice Chair of the U.S. Congress Joint Economic Committee (JEC), today released a new report examining the role of women in American manufacturing.

May 09 2013

Klobuchar Releases New ‘Mother’s Day’ Report Highlighting Critical Economic Contributions of Mothers

With Mother’s Day just around the corner, Klobuchar releases new state-by-state report showing nearly half of all American mothers work full-time outside the home and more than one-third are their families’ sole income-earner

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Vice Chair of the U.S. Congress Joint Economic Committee, today released a new ‘Mother’s Day’ report showing that nearly half of all American mothers work full-time outside the home, while another sixteen percent work part-time.

May 07 2013

Klobuchar: Comprehensive Immigration Reform Critical to Moving Economy Forward

WASHINGTON, D.C. - U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Vice Chair of the U.S. Congress Joint Economic Committee (JEC), today held the first of a two-part hearing to examine the economic impact of immigration in America. Klobuchar emphasized the important role immigrants play in a broad range of industries, from high-tech manufacturing to farming and agriculture, and called for swift action to pass comprehensive, bipartisan immigration reform. Klobuchar invited Grover Norquist, Founder and President of Americans for Tax Reform, and Dr. Adriana Kugler, a professor at Georgetown University’s Public Policy Institute, to testify in today’s hearing. During the hearing, Norquist underscored the positive economic impact immigration reform would have on the economy and argued that reform would reduce, rather than increase, the deficit.

May 03 2013

Statement from JEC Vice Chair Klobuchar on April 2013 Employment Report

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Vice Chair of the U.S. Congress Joint Economic Committee (JEC), released the following statement on the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ April 2013 jobs report showing that 165,000 total nonfarm jobs were added and the unemployment rate fell from 7.6% to 7.5%:

Apr 09 2013

Statement from JEC Vice Chair Klobuchar on National Equal Pay Day

“Ensuring equal pay for women lifts up families and strengthens our economy,” Klobuchar said. “While we’ve made incredible strides over the past few decades, on this year’s National Equal Pay Day we must recommit ourselves to ensuring a level playing field for women in the workplace.”