Post by bot on Jan 31, 2014 17:00:34 GMT -5
Democrats Are Committed to Expanding Access to Economic Opportunities
MESSAGE FROM THE DEMOCRATIC WHIP
On Tuesday, President Obama delivered his State of the Union address and challenged Congress to work together to expand economic opportunity for Americans. This is why House Democrats are continuing to call for immediate action on the most pressing issues facing our nation, including restoring unemployment benefits and raising the minimum wage. We will also continue to work to advance our Make It In America plan, which is focused on increasing economic opportunities for our people by creating the conditions for American businesses to manufacture their products and create jobs right here in the U.S.
This week the Republican–led House voted on two pieces of legislation: one bill continued their attack on women’s health, the other was a farm bill conference report. While I disagreed with the bill’s cuts to funding for nutrition assistance programs, this compromise bill was far better than the cuts in the House Republicans’ bill, and it will provide certainty to our farming communities, families in need, and commodity markets.
I’m also pleased that Republicans announced their set of principles for immigration reform yesterday. This is an important first step and I hope Republicans will now be willing to work with Democrats to move forward and discuss how we compromise to fix our broken immigration system. House Democrats are ready to do our part and work across the aisle to achieve results.
Over the next few weeks, our nation will not be able to pay its bills unless Congress takes action. I’m very disappointed that House Republicans are signaling that they are going to once again hold our nation’s economy hostage to unrelated political demands. I believe they should work with Democrats to ensure our nation can pay its bills and provide certainty to our economy and businesses.
Sincerely yours,
STENY H. HOYER