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Hearings

Feb 13 2008

Do Sovereign Wealth Funds Make the U.S. Economy Stronger or Pose National Security Risks?

106 Dirksen Senate Office Building - 2:00 pm

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer (D-NY), convened the Joint Economic Committee (JEC) to examine increased investment by foreign-government controlled funds, known as sovereign wealth funds.  The hearing entitled, “Do Sovereign Wealth Funds Make the U.S. Economy Stronger or Pose National Security Risks?” was held Wednesday, February 13, 2008 at 2:00pm in Room 106 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building.  A top Treasury Department official and experts on sovereign wealth investments offered their views on the benefits and risks associated with investment in the United States by these funds.  Schumer also asked witnesses for their best recommendations to ensure U.S. economic and national security. 

Feb 01 2008

The Employment Situation in January 2008

106 Dirksen Senate Office Building - 9:30 am

Washington D.C. - U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer, Chairman of the Joint Economic Committee (JEC), held a hearing on the newly released Bureau of Labor Statistics’ (BLS) monthly employment figures with BLS Commissioner Keith Hall.  The hearing, entitled “The Employment Situation in January 2008” addressed the new jobs report and previously weak jobs reports in light of a potential recession.  The hearing also addressed chronically-low job creation during the current administration and examined revisions to payroll figures for the past several years made that morning.  With a recession looming and the unemployment rolls growing, Dr. Hall provided insight on labor market trends and conditions in a deteriorating economy.

Jan 16 2008

What Should the Federal Government do to Avoid a Recession

216 Hart Senate Office Building - 9:30 am
Washington D.C. - U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer (D-NY) convened a Joint Economic Committee (JEC) hearing to examine the targeted economic policies for fending off the predicted recession.

Nov 08 2007

The Economic Outlook

216 Hart Senate Office Building - 10:00 am

Washington D.C. - As the subprime mortgage market fallout spills over into the broader housing market, trade deficits rise, and the dollar weakens, Sen. Schumer and the JEC Members asked Chairman Bernanke for his views on the nation’s economic future and for guidance in dealing with current economic conditions.

Oct 04 2007

Mass Incarceration in the United States: At What Cost?

216 Hart Senate Office Building - 10:00 am

Washington D.C. - The United States has experienced a sharp increase in its prison population in the past thirty years.  From the 1920s to the mid-1970s, the incarceration rate in the United States remained steady at approximately 110 prisoners per 100,000 people. Today, the incarceration rate is 737 inmates per 100,000 residents, comprising 2.1 million persons in federal, state, and local prisons.  The United States has 5 percent of the world’s population but now has 25 percent of its prisoners.  There are approximately 5 million Americans under the supervision of the correctional system, including parole, probation, and other community supervision sanctions.

With such a significant number of the population behind bars, expenditures associated with the prison system have skyrocketed.  According to the Urban Institute, “the social and economic costs to the nation are enormous.”  With 2.25 million people incarcerated in approximately five thousand prisons and jails, the combined expenditures of local governments, state governments, and the federal government for law enforcement and corrections personnel totals over $200 billion.

The JEC examined why the United States has such a disproportionate share of the world’s prison population, as well as ways to address this issue that responsibly balance public safety and the high social and economic costs of imprisonment. 

Sep 19 2007

Evolution of an Economic Crisis?: The Subprime Lending Disaster and the Threat to the Broader Economy

216 Hart Senate Office Building - 10:00 am

Washington D.C. - Until recently, most mainstream economic experts—including Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke—have suggested that the widespread and serious problems in the subprime mortgage market, while a problem for the holders of subprime borrowers and their communities, would have a minimal impact on the larger American economy. However, a number of recent economic developments—including this summer’s credit crises in global financial markets, driven almost entirely by fears about the collapsing American subprime mortgage market, the accelerating slump in housing markets across the country, and the startling August jobs report—have made it increasingly clear that the economic spillover from the subprime mortgage meltdown is unlikely to be contained to one sector of the economy.

The Joint Economic Committee, investigated the economic threat that the subprime mortgage mess poses to the broader economy, and helped us learn more about the kind and size of economic problems this crisis may produce going forward.

Jul 25 2007

A Local Look at the National Foreclosure Crisis: Cleveland Families, Neighborhoods, Economy Under Siege from the Subprime Mortgage Fallout

216 Hart Senate Office Building - 10:00 am
Washington D.C. - There have been widespread and serious problems in the subprime mortgage market over the past several months, but little attention has been paid to the economic impact of foreclosures caused by subprime loan defaults on local communities across the nation.

Over the last year, Ohio has consistently ranked in the top 10 of states with the highest rate of foreclosures in the country. Cities such as Dayton, Akron and Cleveland are ranked in the top 20 metropolitan cities nationally with the highest number of foreclosures in 2006. According to June 2007 data, Cleveland has been hit particularly hard by the increase in foreclosures. In particular, Cuyahoga County has the largest number of new foreclosure filings in the country. With 3,261 new unique address foreclosure filings in June, the county has one new foreclosure filing for every 169 households.  Last year alone, Cuyahoga County had 13,000 foreclosures.

The JEC examined the destructive impact of the foreclosure boom on Cleveland, Ohio, which is currently among the cities with the highest rates of subprime foreclosures in the country.  The hearing investigated the impacts of foreclosures on homeowners, neighborhoods, and cities, and explore federal policy responses.

Jun 27 2007

Investing in Young Children Pays Dividends: The Economic Case for Early Care and Education

216 Hart Senate Office Building - 11:00 am

Washington D.C. - The JEC discussed how investments in early childhood programs can improve child outcomes, ease the burden on public resources, enable higher labor force participation, and lead to higher future productivity and economic growth. The committee heard testimony from expert witnesses including a Nobel Prize winning economist, the Governor of Kansas, Kathleen Sebelius, and a child care expert from Pennsylvania concerning the inadequacy of current investments in child care and early education and how the federal government can help states develop and expand high quality early childhood development and education programs.

 

Jun 14 2007

Importing Success: Why Work-Family Policies from Abroad Make Economic Sense for the U.S.

216 Hart Senate Office Building - 10:00 am

Washington D.C. - The Government Accountability Office (GAO) presented findings from a new report on policies used abroad to help workers - especially women - balance the competing demands of employment and care-giving responsibilities.  The new GAO report shows the U.S. lags far behind other industrialized nations in providing policies that support working parents and their children.  The committee heard testimony from expert witnesses about how American workers, businesses, and the overall economy could benefit from improved workplace policies, including extended maternity and paternity leave, increased access to child care, more paid sick and vacation time, and flexible work schedules.

  
 

May 23 2007

Is Market Concentration in the U.S. Petroleum Industry Harming Consumers?

216 Hart Senate Office Building - 10:00 am
Washington D.C. - The Bush Administration has allowed an increase in oil refinery mergers to go unchecked, even as reduced refining supply seems to be pushing up gas prices.  The rise in gasoline prices is helping refiners generate the highest margins from refining since at least 1990, allowing them to report record profits.  Meanwhile, consumers are facing harmful price spikes and lack of cheaper alternatives, such as E85, at the pumps.

The JEC examined the impacts of consolidation in the oil and gas industry on competition, gasoline prices, and consumers’ energy choices.  Specifically, the Committee investigated whether oil industry mergers and increased market concentration have enabled firms to raise their prices above competitive levels and strategically withhold capacity to keep prices high; and investigated whether firms are preventing the entry of cheaper fuel alternatives for consumers at the pump.