WASHINGTON—Congressman Don. Beyer (VA-08), Vice Chair of the U.S. Congress Joint Economic Committee, issued the following statement after the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) released its initial estimate of fourth quarter gross domestic product (GDP), showing that GDP grew at annual rate of 2.1 percent in the fourth quarter of 2019, the same rate as in the previous quarter. Overall, real GDP increased 2.3 percent in 2019, compared to a 2.9 percent increase in 2018.

“The president and his team promised that his tax cuts would lead to GDP growth of three to six percent. It’s now clear that they haven’t come close. We’ve now had three straight quarters of modest economic growth. Three straight quarters where business investment has fallen. Manufacturing has contracted for three of the last four quarters. Whatever short-term boost to the economy resulted from the tax cuts has worn off.

“The Republican tax law added nearly $2 trillion to the national debt but delivered little sustained benefit. Our country faces pressing economic challenges and instead of addressing those challenges, the president and Republicans in Congress chose to give very large tax cuts to those who didn’t need them and run up the deficit. We should have invested in roads and bridges and in education to prepare the next generation to compete in today’s global economy.

“While the Republican tax law did little to boost growth, the administration’s trade policies are actually slowing growth and costing consumers money. According to the Congressional Budget Office’s latest forecast, the administration’s tariffs will reduce real GDP by 0.5 percent this year and reduce average household income by nearly $1,300. It’s time for the administration to face this reality and change policy.”

Beyer is currently serving his third term in the U.S. House of Representatives, representing Northern Virginia suburbs of the nation’s capital. In addition to his role as Vice Chair of the JEC, Beyer serves on the House Committee on Ways and Means and the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology. He represents the largest number of federal employees of any member of the House.

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WASHINGTON—Congressman Don Beyer (VA-8) has been elected Vice Chair of the U.S. Congress Joint Economic Committee (JEC) by the Committee’s members.

“I thank my colleagues from both parties and chambers for confirming me to this position. I look forward to working with all of them and Chairman Lee in 2020 to tackle the enormous challenges facing the U.S. economy,” Congressman Beyer said.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi recommended Congressman Beyer for the post. He replaces Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney, who stepped down as Vice Chair to chair the House Committee on Oversight and Reform.

Congressman Beyer represents Virginia’s 8th District, which encompasses Arlington, Alexandria, Falls Church and parts of Fairfax County. He serves on the House Committee on Ways and Means and the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology. He was the Lieutenant Governor of Virginia from 1990 to 1998, and Ambassador to Switzerland and Liechtenstein under President Obama.

The JEC is a joint House-Senate committee that holds hearings and issues reports to help inform Congress’ actions on economic issues. Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) is Chairman of the committee in the 116^th Congress. Senator Lee and Representative Beyer are joined by nine Republican and nine Democratic members.

Democratic members are Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-NM), Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI), Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Rep. Beyer, Rep. Maloney (D-NY), Rep. Denny Heck (D-WA), Rep. David Trone (D-MD), Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-OH) and Rep. Lois Frankel (D-FL).

Republican members are Sen. Lee, Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR), Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH), Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA), Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), Senator Kelly Loeffler (R-GA), Rep. David Schweikert (R-AZ), Rep. Darin LaHood (R-IL), Rep. Kenny Marchant (R-TX) and Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler (R-WA). 

WASHINGTON—Congresswoman Carolyn B. Maloney (NY-12), Vice Chair of the U.S. Congress Joint Economic Committee, issued the following statement after the JEC’s Democratic staff published the study, “Two Years of Evidence Shows 2017 Tax Cuts Failed to Deliver Promised Economic Boost.” The publication coincides with the two-year anniversary of the Republican Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017.

“With the two-year anniversary of the Republican tax cuts upon us, we now have enough economic data to say definitively that they failed to deliver for American workers and families. President Trump had boasted the tax cuts would boost GDP growth to as high as 6 percent, increase annual income for families by $4,000 and help pay down the national debt. The facts show that these claims are fantastical.”

“The report shows that the 2017 tax law didn’t provide a sustained boost to GDP growth, nor did it significantly increase business investment and result in huge gains in household income. Americans would be right to feel cheated.”

“Inequality was already at an all-time high when the legislation was passed—it made things much worse. And it isn’t on track—as the administration had claimed—to “pay for itself;” instead, it will add almost $2 trillion to the national debt. That will make it harder for policymakers to fight the next recession and has already prompted Republicans to consider cuts to Medicare, Social Security and Medicaid.”

“Many economists agree that enacting tax cuts for the poor and middle class rather than the wealthy would have provided a solid boost to the economy. And the tax cuts had a higher price tag than many of the investments that would pay this country dividends for generations. For example, the tax cuts will cost more than twice as much as repairing our nation’s crumbling highway system. And just think what we could have done to improve childhood education with nearly $2 trillion. It’s now all too clear the tax cuts were a missed opportunity of massive proportions.”

Congresswoman Carolyn B. Maloney (NY-12), Vice Chair of the U.S. Congress Joint Economic Committee, highlighted in a hearing today that segments of the U.S. population are still struggling despite a record-long economic recovery and low unemployment.

She was speaking at a hearing with Jerome H. Powell, who appeared before the JEC for the first time as Chairman of the Federal Reserve. He discussed his outlook on the economy in a critical moment for the Federal Reserve, which is attempting to keep unemployment low without allowing consumer prices to increase substantially. Underlying the hearing is the question of whether the economy has reached full employment.

Noting that inflation “remains comfortably below the Fed target rate,” Congresswoman Maloney asked Chairman Powell whether the Federal Reserve could allow the job market to tighten even further to draw more people into the workforce.

In a response that some interpreted as favoring low interest rates, Chairman Powell noted that the strong job market “has many beneficial side effects, including pulling people back into the labor market, including wages moving up for people at the lower end of the wage spectrum. So there's a lot to like about today's labor market, and we'd like to see it continue strong and we're using our tools to try to make that happen.”

You can watch today’s hearing, as well as read prepared testimony from Chairman Powell and Vice Chair Maloney’s opening statement, by clicking here.

Here are excerpts from Vice Chair Maloney’s opening statement:

• “Not all demographic groups have shared equally in the economic growth of the past decade. As members of Congress, we need to serve all Americans.”
• “[I]nflation remains comfortably below the Fed target rate. Which raises the question: has the traditional relationship between unemployment and inflation weakened? If it has, why? Is it downward price pressure from around the globe? Or, increased market concentration in certain industries in the United States eroding worker bargaining power?”
• “And what if unemployment is extremely low – suggesting that we are at full employment, but the unemployment rate for African Americans or Latinos remains much higher? What if the unemployment rate for people in some communities, or those who work in some occupations, is stubbornly high? These are questions with wide-ranging implications for both fiscal and monetary policy.”
• “Manufacturing is in recession, business investment has been shrinking for the past two quarters and productivity fell last quarter for the first time since 2015. Some of these more troubling developments may be a sign of a possible end to our decade-long economic expansion. Or a slow fade from the ‘sugar high’ of the 2017 tax cuts. But the most likely cause of economic uncertainty is the President’s trade war.”

Here are excerpts from Chairman Powell’s prepared testimony:

• “Significant differences, however, persist across different groups of workers and different areas of the country: Unemployment rates for African Americans and Hispanics are still well above the jobless rates for whites and Asians, and the proportion of the people with a job is lower in rural communities.”
• “Looking ahead, my colleagues and I see a sustained expansion of economic activity, a strong labor market, and inflation near our symmetric 2 percent objective as most likely.”
• “However, noteworthy risks to this outlook remain. In particular, sluggish growth abroad and trade developments have weighed on the economy and pose ongoing risks.”
• “We see the current stance of monetary policy as likely to remain appropriate as long as incoming information about the economy remains broadly consistent with our outlook of moderate economic growth, a strong labor market, and inflation near our symmetric 2 percent objective.”