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Joint Economic Committee Democrats

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Jun 23 2026

NEW DATA: Businesses, Families Could Save Thousands on Child Care Through Underutilized Tax Cuts

The U.S. Congress Joint Economic Committee - Minority issued a report today with new calculations on potential savings for both businesses and their employees through increased use of existing child care tax cuts. Scenarios created by the Committee and informed by conversations with experts and businesses show that a sample business could get $820,000 in direct tax savings over the first five years that it provides child care benefits to its employees and see an $8 million return-on-investment (ROI). A parent working at this sample company could save nearly $10,000 in child care expenses over that same time period.

Jun 23 2026

NEW: Senator Hassan Launches Investigation into Surging Energy Costs

U.S. Senator Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Ranking Member of the Joint Economic Committee, announced a new investigation into surging energy costs. Today she directed the Government Accountability Office (GAO), an independent watchdog office, to investigate the extent to which the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has evaluated and responded to energy market pressures and the impact FERC’s efforts have had on prices for consumers. FERC is the independent federal agency responsible for regulating interstate energy markets and ensuring that consumers have access to reliable, safe, and efficient energy at a reasonable cost.

Jun 11 2026

NEW: Hassan Investigation Drives Spotify to Take Action Against 57,000+ Podcast Episodes that Contain Drug-Related Content

U.S. Senator Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Ranking Member of the Joint Economic Committee, released today the results of her investigation into scams and drug-related content on Spotify, a major music streaming service. The report details the company’s efforts to identify and take action against more than 57,000 podcast episodes with drug-related content, but also notes that Spotify only took these actions after extensive public reporting and correspondence between Spotify and the Joint Economic Committee - Minority over the course of the investigation. Spotify also did not report to law enforcement any of the content that it removed in the six-month period that the Committee investigated.

May 21 2026

Joint Economic Committee Leaders Raise Anti-Scam Efforts with Major Telecommunications Companies

U.S. Congress Joint Economic Committee Chairman David Schweikert (R-AZ) and Ranking Member Maggie Hassan (D-NH) today urged three major telecommunications companies to strengthen their anti-scams efforts. Chairman Schweikert and Ranking Member Hassan requested detailed information from AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon about their current strategies to identify and curb scams. Their outreach follows testimony from administration officials and key experts at a bipartisan Committee hearing in March that focused on the threats posed by well-resourced, ever-evolving criminal scam operations.

May 15 2026

UPDATE: Following Hassan Investigation, Additional Data Broker Makes It Easier for People to Protect Their Personal Data

The Joint Economic Committee - Minority announced today that, following a Congressional investigation, Findem, a data broker, has updated its data collection opt-out processes to make it easier for people to protect their personal data. Findem’s actions occurred after an investigation by U.S. Senator Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Ranking Member of the Joint Economic Committee, into the challenges that consumers face from data brokers and their convoluted opt-out practices, as well as the overall role of data brokers in preventing breaches and related scams.

May 13 2026

JEC Ranking Member Hassan Releases Response to the Economic Report of the President

Senator Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Ranking Member of the Joint Economic Committee, announced today the release of the Minority portion of the Committee’s annual response to the Economic Report of the President. The Committee is required by law to submit findings and recommendations in response to the Report, which is prepared and released each year by the Council of Economic Advisers (CEA).

May 07 2026

NEW: Americans Have Paid $25 Billion More for Gas Since Start of Iran War, Surpassing Total Cost of War Itself

Today, the national average gas price rose to $4.558 per gallon, which is 53 percent higher than before President Trump began his illegal war with Iran on February 28. With this latest increase, the Joint Economic Committee – Minority found that families have now paid more than $25 billion more for gas since the war began. This exceeds the total cost of the Iran War itself thus far, per the Department of Defense, although that number does not fully account for damage to U.S. bases.

May 07 2026

NEW DATA: Trump Tariffs’ Impact on Small Business Jobs & Revenue

The Joint Economic Committee - Minority issued a report today on the impact of President Trump’s tariffs, which have driven up costs and triggered economic uncertainty for America’s small businesses. The report includes new Committee data, including that the smallest businesses lost 4.5 times more jobs in 2025 than during the pandemic in 2020. This report comes during National Small Business Week, which runs from May 3 – 9, 2026.