Economy and Jobs

Today, Congresswoman Gwen Moore (WI-4) voted in opposition to the conference report to the FAA Air Transportation Modernization and Safety Improvement Act (H.R. 658). The House approved the conference report by a 248-169 vote. Read more

WASHINGTON D.C. (WTAQ) - Wisconsin's congressional Democrats said they appreciated President Obama's vow to revive manufacturing in his State of the Union address Tuesday night. But the state's Republicans said Obama's plea for economic fairness wrongly focuses on guaranteeing outcomes through government action, instead of opportunities in a free market. The Democrat Obama called for higher taxes on the rich -- a 30 percent bracket for those making over $1 million a year. And he took another sw... Read more

Sen. Herb Kohl (D) "We appreciate that the president is focused on the right things for our country: increasing our economic output and decreasing unemployment. In Wisconsin we're particularly happy about his focus on manufacturing since our state's economy and employment, more than most any other state, is dependent on a strong manufacturing base. The president also recognizes that education is the foundation of our country's future, whether it means providing all students access to a quality ... Read more

Today, Congresswoman Gwen Moore (WI-4) expressed disappointment in Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker's decision to turn down Early Innovator Grant funding from the federal government which would have helped implement a health insurance exchange. Read more

What is insourcing? After decades of watching American companies take jobs to other countries, we're beginning to see entrepreneurs and manufactures make the decision to keep factories and production facilities here in the United States—or even bring jobs back to the U.S. from overseas. How do we know this is happening? For the past 22 months, the private sector has been hiring—to the tune of 3.2 million jobs. In 2011 alone, we saw private companies bring on almost 2 million new workers, more t... Read more

Greg Kaufmann Nation readers know the record-setting levels of poverty in America today: nearly one in six citizens below the official poverty line of $22,300 for a family of four, including one of five kids. African-American and Hispanic children are even worse off, with poverty rates of 40 percent and 37 percent, respectively. More than one in three Americans are struggling on incomes below twice the poverty threshold—roughly $45,000 for a family of four. In 2011, The Nation kept the plight o... Read more

Today, Congresswoman Gwen Moore (WI-4), applauded President Obama's announcement that he will appoint Richard Cordray as head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau during the Senate recess. Read more

By Pete Kasperowicz With Christmas less than two weeks away, House Democrats in particular are ramping up their use of metaphors involving the Grinch who stole Christmas and Ebenezer Scrooge as they look to make their criticism of House Republicans more timely for the holiday season. "Americans across this country can tune into C-SPAN and watch our own version of the Grinch and Ebenezer Scrooge and Henry Potter, our House holiday humbugs right here on the floor of the House of Representatives,"... Read more

By Pete Kasperowicz The House payroll tax holiday extension bill on Tuesday afternoon survived its first Democratic challenge — a point of order that sought to derail the legislation. Rep. Gwen Moore (D-Wis.) raised the point of order before debate on the rule for the bill even began, and was followed by other members of the Congressional Black Caucus who spoke against the bill. The point of order had no chance of success, and members agreed to set it aside in a 227-174 vote; only two Democrats... Read more

By Pete Kasperowicz The House on Wednesday voted to reject all five Democratic amendments to H.R. 10, a bill that would require Congress to approve all major rules having an impact of $100 million or more. Only seven amendments in total were made in order, and by voice vote, the House approved one from Rep. Pete Sessions (R-Texas) that would require agencies submitting rules to Congress to assess anticipated jobs gained or lost because of the rule. Another GOP amendment, from Rep. David McKinle... Read more