Washington, D.C.—Today, Senator Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Chairman of the U.S. Congress Joint Economic Committee (JEC), released the following statement after the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported that nonfarm payroll employment increased by 199,000 in November and the unemployment rate fell slightly to 3.7%. The unemployment rate was 5.8% for Black workers, 4.6% for Hispanic workers, 3.3% for white workers, 3.5% for Asian workers, and 6.1% (not seasonally adjusted) for American Indian and Alaska Native workers.

Washington, D.C.—Today, Senator Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Chairman of the U.S. Congress Joint Economic Committee (JEC) and the Joint Economic Committee Democrats released a new report titled, “Climate Risks are Already Destabilizing Insurance Markets and Threatening Americans’ Financial Security.” The report highlights the impact that climate change is already having on the financial well-being of individual American families, public and private insurance markets, local governments, and the broader financial sector.

Climate change threatens not only the health of the planet but also Americans’ financial well-being. Climate disasters can quickly undermine the value of people’s homes, while the broader effects of the climate crisis can disrupt the health of the broader financial sector. One clear example is in the home insurance market, where climate-exacerbated risks from hurricanes and wildfires are making parts of America hard to insure. Climate change threatens broader financial stability too, both through direct risks to the real estate market, but also through portfolio risks that could impact pensions and mutual funds. Adequately characterizing and valuing these climate risks with better data and analysis can inform decision making and regulations to mitigate climate financial risk. Policymakers should ensure that financial markets integrate climate risks into their decision making and turn away from anti-capitalist efforts to prevent the financial sector from accounting for environmental risk factors.

Young adults who are engaged in either work or school strengthen our communities and provide significant economic benefits. When policymakers invest in supporting opportunity youth, defined as those between 16 and 24 who are neither in school nor working, the benefits are widespread and long term. Expanding employment opportunities for opportunity youth—including through proven year-round and summer job training programs—can help improve work readiness, expand professional networks, boost earnings, and reduce interaction with the criminal justice system. Certain programs have also been shown to improve public safety and reduce gun violence. There are several avenues for Congress to invest in these proven programs, including through a reauthorization of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) and other federal initiatives.

Washington, D.C.— Hoy, los demócratas del Comité Económico Conjunto del Congreso de los Estados Unidos publicaron un nuevo informe que describe cómo la inversión de energía renovable de Puerto Rico puede apoyar el crecimiento económico en la isla. El Congreso ha asignado $12 mil millones de dólares en fondos de ayuda para reconstruir el sistema energético de Puerto Rico, incluyendo la modernización de la red eléctrica, en respuesta a la destrucción causada por múltiples desastres naturales recientes. El informe sostiene que estos fondos ofrecen una oportunidad de inversión en una red moderna.