Jobs and the Economy
There’s no question that our region was hit hard by the recession and the housing crisis. Now, as the national economy continues to improve, we have to make sure the Inland Empire does not get left behind. This is why creating jobs and growing our local economy are my biggest priorities in Congress.
Job Creation Listening Tour
At the start of my term in Congress, I launched a Job Creation Listening Tour to learn straight from the community what we needed to do put the Inland Empire back to work. I met with over 200 local economic leaders, education professionals, employees, and owners of businesses large and small. The findings, recommendations, and ideas that came out of the tour were published in report titled “A Roadmap to Economic Resilience in the Inland Empire” which you can find here.
Jobs Plan - One Year Later
On May 1, 2016 I released a one-year update to “A Roadmap to Economic Resilience in the Inland Empire” where I detailed the progress we've made on the recommendations outlined in the original report. From getting parts of my infrastructure funding bill signed into law to working with federal officials to make sure the local transfer of Ontario Airport goes smoothly, we accomplished a lot over the past year. You can read the full update here.
Regional Infrastructure Accelerator Act
Investing in our region’s infrastructure was the top recommendation in my Jobs Report. Not only is my district home to Ontario International Airport, but the Inland Empire also serves as an inland port through which goods that arrive at the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles are processed in or moved through before being transported all over the country. Our economy relies on safe, dependable roads and highways and on investment on rail and more efficient transit. However, experts estimate we need to invest $3.6 trillion over the next five years alone to adequately fund the country’s infrastructure needs. I introduced the Regional Infrastructure Accelerator Act to help pay for sorely needed improvements to our nation's roads, bridges, and water infrastructure. It will connect finance and infrastructure professionals with local and state governments to provide them with the technical expertise and pre-development capital needed to attract private investment.
JOBS Act
If we want to keep high tech manufacturing jobs in the US, we need to make sure we’re training jobseekers in the skills employers demand. The Job Opportunities between Our Shores (JOBS) Act will connect educational institutions with manufacturers to give workers the training and skills they need to find jobs in growing industries. Right here in the Inland Empire, we’ve seen the success of the partnership between California Steel Industries and Chaffey College. This is a model we should grow and build upon as manufacturing jobs in the Inland Empire and across the country are bouncing back. Now is the time to keep the momentum moving forward by making sure American workers are able to stay ahead of the curve. If the recession has taught us anything it is that in order to build a resilient economy that can withstand future economic challenges, we need a dynamic, educated workforce and a diverse local economy. Comprehensive, demand-driven training programs like those proposed in the JOBS Act will help us do just that.
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No hay duda de que nuestra región se vio muy afectada por la recesión y la crisis de la vivienda. Ahora, mientras la economía nacional continúa mejorando, tenemos que asegurarnos de que el Inland Empire no se quede atrás. Es por eso que la creación de empleos y el crecimiento de nuestra economía local son mis mayores prioridades en el Congreso.
Tour de foros comunitario de creación de empleo
Al comienzo de mi mandato en el Congreso, lancé un foro comunitario de creación de empleo para aprender directamente de la comunidad lo que teníamos que hacer para que el Inland Empire volviera a funcionar. Me reuní con más de 200 líderes económicos locales, profesionales de la educación, empleados y propietarios de empresas grandes y pequeñas. Los descubrimientos, recomendaciones e ideas que surgieron de la gira se publicaron en un informe titulado “Un mapa hacia la resiliencia económica en el Inland Empire” que se puede encontrar aquí.
Plan de trabajos: un año después
El 1 de mayo de 2016, publiqué una actualización de un año de "Un mapa hacia la resiliencia económica en el Inland Empire", donde detallé el progreso que hemos logrado en las recomendaciones descritas en el informe original. Desde que se promulgaron partes de mi proyecto de ley de financiamiento de infraestructura hasta trabajar con funcionarios federales para asegurarnos de que la transferencia local del aeropuerto de Ontario se realizara sin problemas, logramos mucho durante el año pasado. Puede leer la actualización completa aquí.
Ley de aceleración de la infraestructura regional
Invertir en la infraestructura de nuestra región fue la principal recomendación en mi informe de empleo. No solo es mi distrito el hogar del Aeropuerto Internacional de Ontario, sino que el Inland Empire también sirve como un puerto interior a través del cual las mercancías que llegan a los puertos de Long Beach y Los Ángeles se procesan o se trasladan antes de ser transportadas por todo el país. Nuestra economía se basa en carreteras y autopistas seguras y confiables y en la inversión en ferrocarriles y un tránsito más eficiente. Sin embargo, los expertos estiman que necesitamos invertir $3.6 billones durante los próximos cinco años solo para financiar adecuadamente las necesidades de infraestructura del país. Presenté la Ley Regional Infrastructure Accelerator Act para ayudar a pagar las mejoras que tanto se necesitan en las carreteras, puentes e infraestructura de agua de nuestra nación. Conectará a los profesionales de las finanzas y la infraestructura con los gobiernos locales y estatales para proporcionarles la experiencia técnica y el capital previo al desarrollo necesarios para atraer la inversión privada.
Ley de Empleos
Si queremos mantener los trabajos de fabricación de alta tecnología en los EE. UU. debemos asegurarnos de que estamos capacitando a los solicitantes de empleo en las habilidades que demandan los empleadores. La Ley Job Opportunities between Our Shores (JOBS) conectará a las instituciones educativas con los fabricantes para brindarles a los trabajadores la capacitación y las habilidades que necesitan para encontrar trabajos en industrias en crecimiento. Aquí mismo, en Inland Empire, hemos visto el éxito de la asociación entre California Steel Industries y Chaffey College. Este es un modelo sobre el que debemos crecer y construir a medida que los trabajos de fabricación en el Inland Empire y en todo el país se están recuperando. Ahora es el momento de mantener el impulso en marcha asegurándose de que los trabajadores estadounidenses puedan mantenerse en frente. Si la recesión nos ha enseñado algo es que para construir una economía resiliente que pueda resistir los desafíos económicos futuros, necesitamos una fuerza laboral dinámica y educada y una economía local diversa. Los programas de capacitación integrales, impulsadospor la demanda, como los propuestos en la Ley JOBS, nos ayudarán a lograrlo.
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More on Jobs and the Economy
Washington, D.C. – Last month, the U.S. Department of Defense announced that HCI Systems Inc., based in Ontario, California, was awarded a construction contract from the U.S. Navy. The total award was $10,865,000, and the contract will provide for the upgrade of fire alarm and mass notification systems at the Naval Medical Center San Diego. In response to the news, Congresswoman Norma J. Torres (CA-35) issued the following statement:
Washington, D.C. – Representative Norma J. Torres (CA-35) today announced that cities and counties in the Inland Empire received an allocation of over $2.75 million in clean energy grants.
Pomona, California – Today, Congresswoman Norma J. Torres (CA-35) sent a letter to U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) Chair Charlotte Burrows and EEOC’s LA District Office Director Rosa Viramontes following recent reporting on racially charged discrimination and harassment at a facility in Ontario, CA.
Pomona, CA – Today, Congresswoman Norma J. Torres (CA-35) released the following statement in support of Governor Newsom’s announcement of a special legislative session of the California State Legislature to address rising gas prices. On Wednesday, Torres wrote to the Governor asking for him to reconvene the State Legislature to address this urgent issue:
POMONA, CA- Congresswoman Norma Torres (CA-35) wrote to Governor Newsom asking him to call a special session of the State Legislature to investigate and act on California’s skyrocketing gas prices. With gas prices once again soaring, urgent legislative action is necessary.
Fontana, Calif. – Today, Congresswoman Norma J. Torres (CA-35) joined Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Congressman Pete Aguilar, and Mayor Acquanetta Warren to celebrate the award of $15 million federal funding to the city through the RAISE grant program- touring the site and reviewing future plans.
WASHINGTON – Today, Representative Norma J. Torres (CA-35) introduced a resolution to recognize August 14th – August 20th as Warehouse Worker Recognition Week. Creating this recognition will help honor our nation’s warehouse workers and their sacrifices to serving the American people, often on the front line of global pandemics and nationwide crisis.
Pomona, Calif. – Today, Representatives Norma J. Torres (CA-35) and Pete Aguilar (CA-31) announced that the City of Fontana is a recipient of a $15 million Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability & Equity (RAISE) grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation. The RAISE Grant funding will help Fontana continue safe and smart growth, expand access to affordable housing, improve transportation corridors, and build a better-connected Inland Empire.
WASHINGTON – Congresswoman Norma J. Torres (CA-35), through her role on the House Appropriations Committee, secured language in the FY23 Financial Services and General Government Bill to address sexual harassment and workplace misconduct in the federal judiciary.
Washington, D.C. – Today, Representative Norma J. Torres (CA-35) announced that she included six projects to help the Inland Empire as part H.R. 7776, the Water Resources Development Act of 2022 (WRDA), that today passed the House. The legislation authorizes water development and infrastructure projects that are later funded by the House Committee on Appropriations.