Today, Joint Economic Committee Chairman-designate Mike Lee (R-UT) released the following statement celebrating the January jobs numbers while looking toward the future.
Jan 29 2019
Chairman-designate Lee asks CBO and CMS to account for social capital in healthcare cost projections
WASHINGTON – Today, Joint Economic Committee Chairman-designate Mike Lee (R-UT) sent letters to the Congressional Budget Office and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services asking for clarification on whether the agencies take the growing lack of social support among senior citizens into account while formulating their healthcare cost projections for federal and state governments. The letters also ask the agencies to explain their current policy in light of a recent JEC report about declining social support among the elderly.
Joint Economic Committee Chairman Erik Paulsen, R-Minn., welcomed the positive November jobs report released on Friday
With the economy growing robustly for the first time in a decade, wage growth picking up, and inflation near the Fed’s 2 percent target, the Fed’s decision to hold rates steady seems prudent. I believe that Chairman Powell is on the right track to normalize monetary policy and to enable the full long-term growth effects of tax and regulatory reforms to be realized.
"The Federal Reserve’s decision today shows its confidence in the continued strengthening of the U.S. economy. After years of subpar performance, the economy finally grew at a 4.2 percent annualized rate last quarter; wages are rising, the unemployment rate is its lowest since 2000; consumer confidence is at its highest since 2000; small business optimism is its highest ever, and inflation remains low and stable. Pro-growth economic policies are working.”
Joint Economic Committee Chairman Erik Paulsen lauded news of strong job growth and rising wages in the August unemployment report by the Department of Labor:
"Job growth remains strong with solid gains in August, bringing us to nearly 1.7 million new jobs created since tax reform was enacted. Especially encouraging is that wages are rising at their fastest rate since mid-2009. More jobs and higher wages show these pro-growth policies are working and Americans are better off."
Note: The U.S. Department of Labor reported today that the economy added 201,000 jobs in August and the unemployment rate was 3.9 percent. Average hourly private-sector earnings were up 2.9 percent over the previous year. In August, they were up 2.7 percent. The unemployment rate was 3.9 percent, unchanged from July.
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WASHINGTON--Chairman Erik Paulsen, R-Minn., of the Joint Economic Committee issued the following statement in response to the positive jobs report from July 2018.
Jul 09 2018
Paulsen Statement on June Jobs Report
“Another positive jobs report shows that the U.S. economy clearly had room to grow and that the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act was essential to sparking that growth. I am hopeful this momentum will be sustained despite the Administration’s new tariffs and the retaliation incurred, which make purchases more expensive for American families and threaten our newly rediscovered potential for robust economic growth. I will continue to advocate for the President to lower trade barriers so our manufacturers can hire here at home and thrive across the globe.”
“While China must address its failure to protect U.S. intellectual property, these tariffs are not an effective response because it will harm American jobs and consumers. Our economy is seeing measurable gains thanks to pro-growth policies like the Tax Cuts & Jobs Act. GDP has grown an average of 2.5% over the past five quarters, unemployment is at its lowest rate since December of 2000, and everywhere we are hearing positive stories from businesses large and small. Placing tariffs on medical devices and consumers electronics threaten these gains.”
Chairman Erik Paulsen delivered his opening statement for the Joint Economic Committee's hearing on "Breaking Through the Regulatory Barrier: What Red Tape Means for the Innovation Economy." In his remarks, Chairman Paulsen emphasized the importance of maintaining a dynamic approach to regulation that matches the dynamism of American innovators. The full text as prepared for delivery appears below.
