{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://web.archive.org/web/20141010020634/http://messer.house.gov/media-center/editorials/the-state-of-our-economy-whats-really-going-on", "The state of our economy: What's really going on?", "2014-10-06", "2014", "2014-10", "Republican", "House", "IN", "Luke Messer", "M001189", "web.archive.org", null, null, "legacy", "\u201cMore jobs created than expected.\u201d That was the headline Friday as the Bureau of Labor Statistics released its monthly jobs numbers. \u00a0No doubt, there was some much needed good news in this latest report. \u00a0The economy is slowly showing signs of recovery.\u00a0 But, beneath the surface of the headlines, we still have a long way to go.\nWhile the unemployment rate now sits at 5.9 percent, the number of people participating in the labor force fell to 62.7 percent - its lowest level since 1978.\u00a0 According to the report, nearly five years after the height of the recession, more than 7.1 million Americans who want full-time work are only working part-time.\u00a0 That\u2019s because they either can\u2019t find full-time jobs or they had their hours cut by their employer.\u00a0 The average worker is working less than 35 hours a week.\nGiven those not-so-positive insights into the latest report, it\u2019s easy to see why the economy remains the number one issue for most Americans. \u00a0According to the latest Associated Press-GfK poll, 9 in 10 likely voters call the economy an \u201cextremely\u201d or \u201cvery important\u201d issue, but only 34 percent expect to see any improvement in the economy over the next year.\u00a0\u00a0\nMany Hoosiers in the 6th District agree.\u00a0 As I\u2019ve traveled throughout our 19 counties, I\u2019ve heard time and time again that paychecks aren\u2019t going as far as they used to, budgets are tighter than ever before and people are being forced to work fewer hours.\u00a0 Many are working harder, but falling farther behind, and have little optimism that things will improve.\u00a0\nThat\u2019s why the House of Representatives has worked over the last year to pass job-creating, economy-boosting bills that would make life better for all Americans.\u00a0\u00a0 We\u2019ve passed more than 350 bills that are sitting, unheard, in the U.S. Senate. \u00a0Dozens of these bills would help create good-paying jobs and provide conditions that encourage small-businesses to grow and hire more workers.\nThe Jobs for America Act (H.R. 4), which passed the House last month, is a package of 14 different initiatives to rollback regulations that restrict access to capital and stifle small business growth. H.R. 4 also repeals the President\u2019s 30-hour work week under the Affordable Care Act.\u00a0 This onerous government mandate has caused employers across the nation\u00a0to reduce workers\u2019 hours - that means less money to make ends meet each month.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\nThe House also recently passed the American Energy Solutions for Lower Costs and More American Jobs Act (H.R. 2).\u00a0 This package of bills focuses on energy production, infrastructure, reliability and efficiency\u2014all solutions that will increase American energy independence and lower costs for consumers.\u00a0 America is poised for an energy revolution.\u00a0 But, we must take the necessary steps to get there.\u00a0 That\u2019s why H.R. 2 approves the Keystone XL pipeline.\u00a0 Six years after the first permit for construction was submitted, the work on the pipeline still hasn\u2019t started.\u00a0 The Act also requires the Obama Administration to responsibly move forward with new offshore energy production in areas that could contain the most oil and natural gas resources.\u00a0 H.R. 2 puts a stop to the EPA\u2019s war on coal as well which is costing Hoosiers their jobs and driving up home heating costs.\nWhile the President and Democrats in both the House and Senate continuously talk about the problems facing our nation, they fail to provide viable long-term solutions, let alone consider the ones passed by the House.\u00a0 Of course, the House proposals won\u2019t solve all of our nation\u2019s economic problems. \u00a0But, they would help jump-start the economy and provide a catalyst to speed-up the slowest economic recovery in our nation\u2019s history.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://web.archive.org/web/20141010020634/http://messer.house.gov/media-center/editorials/the-state-of-our-economy-whats-really-going-on"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.6650870200246572, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}