Hoyer: In the 111th Congress, Democrats Are Working to Move America Forward

 

"When President Obama and the 111th Congress took their oaths of office, America was facing the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. We were losing almost 800,000 jobs per month. Over a quarter of the personal wealth in America had been wiped out. We were in a record amount of debt. From the day we began our work, Congress had this overriding goal: stopping the freefall, creating jobs, and building a solid foundation for the future.

 

"There’s no doubt that Americans are still hurting—there’s still a long way to go. But we’re moving in the right direction. The economy has added around 3 million jobs, and American manufacturing is rebounding. We added 136,000 manufacturing jobs during the first seven months of this year—the longest sustained growth in manufacturing employment in 13 years.

 

"To build on that success, Democrats have pursued the Make It In America agenda: a plan to continue the rebound of American manufacturing, to create reasons for companies to create jobs in America. Make It In America is about building an environment that encourages investment and innovation in America.

 

"The most recent Make It In America bill was signed on Monday: it creates a small business fund, provides an additional $12 billion in small business tax cuts, and promotes the export of American goods.

 

"Yesterday, we passed another important Make It In America bill, which holds China accountable for its currency manipulation. This bill pushes works to level the trade playing field, which helps Americans keep their jobs and create new ones.

 

"But in the long run, our economy will struggle if our children are drowning in debt. After President Bush and Republicans ran up record debt, Democrats are putting our fiscal house in order. We restored PAYGO to ensure that Congress pays for what it buys. President Obama created a bipartisan fiscal commission to tackle our deficit—and we’ve pledged to vote on its recommendations.

 

"We have a great deal of work left to do before our economy has recovered. But our record on behalf of working families contrasts sharply with Republicans’ plan to deliver the 'exact same agenda' of the failed Bush years, which exploded the deficits, devastated working Americans, and ushered in the worst economy since Hoover.

 

"Our agenda has been and will be to reinstill the confidence in every American’s mind that they, their children, and their neighbors can make it in America."