Skip to main content

All in on the American Worker

May 24, 2021
Blog Post

This week I want to discuss the disastrous policies of President Biden and the need for Americans to return to work.

The April jobs report did not provide good news--unemployment actually went up to 6.1 percent. Economists expected a million jobs to be created, but those expectations were missed by over 750,000. And March's jobs report was revised down by 75,000. These tepid jobs reports come at a time when there are nearly 8.1 million job openings available across the nation. To help get our economy moving, we need to advance pro-growth policies, but proposals advanced by Biden and congressional Democrats endanger economic renewal.

In proposing his so-called "infrastructure" plan, President Biden has offered a vast expansion of the federal government and the welfare state. Only 6 percent of his multi-trillion proposal would go towards rebuilding roads and bridges. He proposes spending more on electric vehicles than repairing the roads they will drive on. To pay for his far-left progressive partisan wish list, Biden is proposing tax hikes that will eliminate 1,000,000 jobs, according to a recent report from the National Association of Manufacturers.

Biden wants to roll back the landmark Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which helped build the strongest economy that we've seen in a generation.

Let's be clear about the results of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act: the lowest unemployment in 50 years, the lowest poverty rate recorded, and a $5,000 increase in the median household income. It put real money back in the pockets of hard-working Americans. With pro-growth policies, the American people have the independence to make their own decisions.

The first months of Biden's presidency have been marked by proposals to increase the size and scope of the federal government. They want the federal government to control Americans' lives. They want to create a greater dependency on the federal government.

Democrats are focused on keeping hard-working Americans at home. The additional federal unemployment benefit, which runs through September, creates a situation where some individuals may be earning more to stay at home rather than go to work.

People respond rationally to incentives. The federal government should not be incentivizing individuals not to return to work. The federal government is competing with small businesses that are trying to find employees.

It's time to get Americans back to work.

Earlier this year, I cosponsored legislation introduced by Ways and Means Committee Ranking Member Kevin Brady to provide a back-to-work bonus, which would reward individuals for returning to work. Congress should advance pro-growth policies which recognize the dignity in work rather than incentivizing dependency on the federal government.

When we put the American people in charge of their own destinies, I will bet on them over big government any day of the week.