The opioid epidemic was the subject of Congress’s Joint Economic Committee hearing last week. New Mexico Senator Martin Heinrich, a Democrat, is the ranking member of that committee. He spoke with KUNM about the hearing and the prospects for behavioral health in the Republican health care replacement bill.
Jun 09 2017
Think Progress - Trump’s cuts to energy efficiency will cost jobs and taxpayer money, report finds
Democrats on the U.S. Congress Joint Economic Committee studied the energy efficiency sector to determine its impact on economic growth. The researchers found that the two federal programs, Energy Star and the Weatherization Assistance Program, contribute to job growth and make it easier for customers to invest in energy efficiency products and upgrades. In his fiscal-year 2018 budget proposal, Trump called for the elimination of both Energy Star and the Weatherization Assistance Program. These programs enjoy bipartisan support and provide strong benefits to residential and business customers across the country, especially in rural areas where Trump won the presidency with a large majority of votes.
U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-NM), ranking member of the Joint Economic Committee, said President Trump’s policies have hurt job growth. “After more than 130 days in office, President Trump has yet to show us he is serious about creating jobs and raising wages across the country. Rather, he has pushed for policies that will only hinder economic growth: a disaster of a health care plan that will kick millions off their health insurance, a budget that threatens working families, and reckless practices by his administration that only endanger the economic security of every American while he benefits,” Heinrich said.
Jun 05 2017
Casper Star-Tribune (Wyoming) - Wyoming parents pay less for child care but still feel sticker shock
Infant care in Wyoming costs $9,110 a year, below the national average of $10,476, according to the report, released by Sen. Martin Heinrich, a New Mexico Democrat and the ranking member of the Joint Economic Committee. Wyoming families spent 13 percent of their income on infant care. For a single mother, infant care e ats up 30 percent of her income on average, the report states. Nationally, 15 percent of a family’s income and 42 percent of a single mother’s income is spent on child care.
“After more than 130 days in office, President Trump has yet to show us he is serious about creating jobs and raising wages across the country,” said Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), ranking member of the Joint Economic Committee. “Rather, he has pushed for policies that will only hinder economic growth: a disaster of a healthcare plan that will kick millions off their health insurance, a budget that threatens working families, and reckless practices by his administration that only endanger the economic security of every American while he benefits," Heinrich said. Still, job gains averaged 121,000 over the past three months, well above the 80,000 needed to lower the jobless rate.
Jun 01 2017
Salon - Here’s how much economic damage President Trump’s alleged corruption could be doing
Democrats in the Joint Economic Committee say that Trump is “likely doing economic harm” by “flaunting the laws and conventions of good governance that made the United States a cornerstone of the global economy” in a staff report. The report, called “The Costs of Corruption to the American Economy,” includes as specific examples the president implementing policies that specifically help his business interests (such as rolling back Clean Water Act protections), regularly visitinghis commercial real estate properties and clubs in ways that give them publicity and thus increase their revenue and being awarded Chinese trademarks at the same time that he began to honor the “One China” policy.
“Usually in health care, you’re providing health care; you’re improving it,” Sen. Bob Casey, D-Pa, said at a recent news conference on Capitol Hill alongside other Democrats from the Joint Economic Committee. “This is a scheme to give very wealthy people even more. It’s repeal and decimate.”
A new report, “Understanding the Economic Challenges in Rural America,” finds that declining population, limited employment opportunities, an education gap, and lack of public investment pose serious challenges to the economic vitality of rural communities. These communities also face a series of structural challenges, such as geographic remoteness and insufficient infrastructure.
Brown, a Democrat, mounted an attack on two fronts he said would hurt veterans and millions of others: The House Republican healthcare plan and President Trump’s budget. Estimates of Impact on Ohio in 2018 per the Joint Economic Committee Democratic staff: Increase in Premiums, $550; No. Losing Private Coverage, 292,982; Increased Cost of Uncompensated Care to Hospitals, $263,684,124
Last week, U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich, a Democrat from New Mexico and ranking member of the Joint Economic Committee, conducted a teleconference to discuss the challenges facing rural America and what policies can help promote economic growth and new opportunities in these communities.