Ranking Member Scott Statement on May Jobs Report
WASHINGTON – Ranking Member Robert C. “Bobby” Scott (VA-03) released the following statement after the Bureau of Labor Statistics announced that the economy added 139,000 jobs in May, and the unemployment rate remained the same at 4.2 percent.
"Since returning to office, the Trump Administration has jeopardized jobs, endangered the rights and protections of workers, and undermined the financial security of retirees.
“Instead of focusing on kitchen table issues— like the cost of housing, the cost of health care, and the cost of food— the Trump Administration has rolled back key consumer protections that would have saved working families money. The reversal of the Biden-era $8 cap on credit card late fees removes a measure that could have put up to $10 billion back in consumers’ pockets annually. Additionally, proposed rollbacks of energy efficiency standards threaten to increase utility bills by up to $43 billion at the same time that the President is proposing to eliminate LIHEAP, the country’s only program specifically designed to help families-in-need pay their heating and cooling bills.
"To make matters worse, Congressional Republicans are trying to pass the ‘Big Bad Billionaires Bill’ that will continue to widen the disparity between the wealthy and working families. To finance tax breaks for the wealthy and well-connected, the bill proposes cuts to essential programs like Medicaid, SNAP, school meals, and Pell Grants. This is a direct transfer of wealth from working families to the ultra-rich, ultimately at the expense of our students and the most vulnerable among us.
"We cannot abandon working families. We need to focus on improving access to job training, high-quality health care, education and other critical issues that benefit working families and strengthen our economy.”
Background: During former President Biden’s first 4 months in office, the economy created 2.1 million jobs. In President Trump’s first 4 months in office, he has created 508,000 jobs. Under former President Biden, the economy added 16.1 million jobs in total and did not have a single month of seasonally adjusted job loss during his entire term. Former President Biden created more jobs during his tenure than any Republican president, whether they served four or eight years. Former President Reagan created the most jobs of any Republican President on record—16,128,000 in eight years—relative to the16,140,000 jobs created during former President Biden’s four years.
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