April 05, 2022

CHAIRMAN JEFFRIES: “PRESIDENT BIDEN IS LAYING THE FOUNDATION FOR AN INCREDIBLE ECONOMIC TURNAROUND”

WASHINGTON, DC – Today, House Democratic Caucus Chairman Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) and Vice Chair Pete Aguilar (D-CA) held a leadership pressconference where they highlighted America’s 15th straight month of record job growth and the lowest unemployment rate since the pandemic struck the U.S. – all under the leadership of President Biden.

CHAIRMAN JEFFRIES: We had a very robust discussion in Caucus today about a wide variety of issues confronting the American people, but largely focused on lowering costs for everyday Americans and building upon the tremendous progress that has already been made in the economy. President Biden has done an incredibly good job during his time in office under very difficult circumstances, helping America work its way through this once-in-a-century COVID-19 pandemic, uniting the free world in support of Ukraine and against Russian aggression and laying the foundation for an incredible economic turnaround.
 
15 consecutive months of robust job creation, the most recent jobs report showing that 431,000 jobs were created, approaching approximately 8 million good-paying jobs that have been created during President Biden's time in office, a record in American presidential history, the fastest rate of economic growth in 40 years, unemployment has now dropped to 3.6% – it was 6.4% when President Biden took office just a short while ago. Wages continue to go up and, of course, the deficit has been reduced during his first year in office by more than $350 billion and may be reduced by an excess of $1 trillion during his second full year in office.
 
This is a tremendous foundation for the American people. That doesn't just happen automatically, doesn't just happen magically. It happens as a result of presidential leadership and partnership with Democratic majorities in the House and the Senate, and we'll continue that work this week, in part by making sure that distressed restaurants and small businesses are able to receive the relief that was originally promised to them but, because of overwhelming demand in terms of funds, weren't previously available. That's bipartisan legislation, with respect to distressed restaurants and small businesses, that will be led by Representative Blumenauer.
 
We, of course, will continue to shine a spotlight for the American people on some of the activities that are taking place that are resulting in the high gas prices that people are experiencing, led by Chairman Frank Pallone and Subcommittee Chairwoman Diana DeGette. Of course, there will be a subcommittee hearing on price gouging that is taking place as some companies – that are making record profits – but instead of passing savings along to the American people, are pouring it into stock buybacks and wealthy shareholders are becoming even wealthier at the expense of the American people. We're going to make sure that the full story is told, both as it relates to Putin's price hike, connected to gas prices, as well as some of the price gouging that is taking place this week.
 
[…]
 
VICE CHAIR AGUILAR: This week, the House will hold two of former President Trump's most loyal confidants in contempt of Congress. Last week I highlighted a passage from Judge Carter's ruling and I wanted to read it here again because it gets to the heart of why we're voting this week, our work as a Select Committee and the responsibility entrusted to all of us on behalf of the American people. The quote, "If Dr. Eastman and President Trump's plan had worked, it would have permanently ended a peaceful transition of power, undermining American democracy and the Constitution. If the country does not commit to investigating and pursuing accountability for those responsible, the court fears that January 6 will repeat itself."
 
Those are the stakes of the investigation that we have in front of us and why it's so important to refer Dan Scavino and Peter Navarro to the Justice Department for contempt of Congress. These aides to the former president have refused to provide a single piece of evidence despite our lawful subpoenas. Their failure to comply sets them apart from nearly every other witness and leads us to no other option. This is as clear a case of contempt as we have seen. House Democrats are committed to the principle that no one is above the law and each and every day we get closer to ensuring that the perpetrators of the attempt to overturn the election are held accountable so this doesn't happen again.
##
 
Video of the full press conference and Q&A can be viewed here.