releases: https://web.archive.org/web/20141010020634/http://messer.house.gov/media-center/editorials/the-state-of-our-economy-whats-really-going-on
Data license: MIT · Data source: dwillis/congress-press
This data as json
| url | title | date | year | month | party | chamber | state | member_name | bioguide_id | domain | scraper | source | date_source | text | has_text | collected_at | updated_at |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | legacy | “More jobs created than expected.” That was the headline Friday as the Bureau of Labor Statistics released its monthly jobs numbers. No doubt, there was some much needed good news in this latest report. The economy is slowly showing signs of recovery. But, beneath the surface of the headlines, we still have a long way to go. While 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. 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. That’s because they either can’t find full-time jobs or they had their hours cut by their employer. The average worker is working less than 35 hours a week. Given those not-so-positive insights into the latest report, it’s easy to see why the economy remains the number one issue for most Americans. According to the latest Associated Press-GfK poll, 9 in 10 likely voters call the economy an “extremely” or “very important” issue, but only 34 percent expect to see any improvement in the economy over the next year. Many Hoosiers in the 6th District agree. As I’ve traveled throughout our 19 counties, I’ve heard time and time again that paychecks aren’t going as far as they used to, budgets are tighter than ever before and people are being forced to work fewer hours. Many are working harder, but falling farther behind, and have little optimism that things will improve. That’s 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. We’ve passed more than 350 bills that are sitting, unheard, in the U.S. Senate. Dozens of these bills would help create good-paying jobs and provide conditions that encourage small-businesses to grow and hire more workers. The 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’s 30-hour work week under the Affordable Care Act. This onerous government mandate has caused employers across the nation to reduce workers’ hours - that means less money to make ends meet each month. The House also recently passed the American Energy Solutions for Lower Costs and More American Jobs Act (H.R. 2). This package of bills focuses on energy production, infrastructure, reliability and efficiency—all solutions that will increase American energy independence and lower costs for consumers. America is poised for an energy revolution. But, we must take the necessary steps to get there. That’s why H.R. 2 approves the Keystone XL pipeline. Six years after the first permit for construction was submitted, the work on the pipeline still hasn’t started. 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. H.R. 2 puts a stop to the EPA’s war on coal as well which is costing Hoosiers their jobs and driving up home heating costs. While 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. Of course, the House proposals won’t solve all of our nation’s economic problems. But, they would help jump-start the economy and provide a catalyst to speed-up the slowest economic recovery in our nation’s history. | 1 | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z |