WASHINGTON – Today, Reps. John Conyers, Jr. (MI-13), Frederica Wilson (FL-24), and Marcy Kaptur (OH-09) - all co-chairs of the Congressional Full Employment Caucus - announced a discharge petition for H.R. 2821, the American Jobs Act, to compel House Republican leaders to bring the comprehensive package of employment measures to the House floor for a vote.
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| U.S. Representative John Conyers, Jr. |
“The American Jobs Act will finally put an end to the painful impacts of the Great Recession,” said Rep. Conyers. “Despite the progress we have seen in recent employment numbers, there are still more than two applicants for every single job opening. There are still more than twice as many people among the ranks of the long-term unemployed than there were before the financial crisis struck in 2008.”
H.R. 2821 is an updated version of President Obama's American Jobs Act, a bill that, according toindependent analysis, would have created 1.9 million jobs and boosted growth by 2% if passed when originally introduced in 2011. Congressional leaders allowed the bill to expire at the end of the 112thCongress without bringing it to the floor for a vote.
This critical legislation rewards work and targets job creation through several fully paid-for provisions. It would cut taxes for working Americans by reinstituting the Making Work Pay Credit, which provides a tax credit equal to 6.2% of earnings and up to a maximum credit of $400 individuals and $800 for couples. It would also facilitate job-creating infrastructure investment by supporting public-private financing for projects such as airport and air traffic control systems, highway and bridge rehabilitation, and high-speed rail projects. Lastly, H.R. 2821 would restore emergency unemployment insurance and end sequestration, the across-the-board budget cuts that are projected to cost Americans more than 2 million jobs over the next decade.
“Together with Democratic leadership, we are introducing this discharge petition for the American Jobs Act because it is time for Congress to focus on the priority that matters most for the American people: Jobs. House Republicans should stop protecting corporate welfare and start fighting for American jobs,” said Rep. Wilson. “By putting teachers, police, firefighters, and construction workers back on the job, we can not only improve our employment situation but also boost educational outcomes and perform urgently-needed upgrades to our infrastructure.”
“The American public has told Congress over and over again that it is time to get serious about creating jobs, and the American Jobs Act would do just that,” said Rep. Kaptur. “This jobs bill would put millions of Americans back to work, strengthen our communities, and keep America competitive in our increasingly globalized world. Not only would the American Jobs Act put individuals back to work, it would place them in good paying jobs that provide a high quality of life. This is the American dream and this Congress must act to pass the American Jobs Act, legislation that can quickly turn around the lives of millions of Americans.”
The Congressional Full Employment Caucus is a coalition of 25 Members of Congress who are committed to ensuring that all Americans who want to work have access to either employment or training. The Caucus regularly hosts expert economists, academics, and policymakers to identify effective job-creation proposals and implement strategies for their adoption.
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