Economy and Jobs

"We owe it to seniors and millions of excluded workers to drop the payroll tax holiday from the tax cut compromise and replace it with a Making Work Tax Credit equal to the amount families would receive under the payroll tax holiday."

Congressman Garamendi said "It's time to go back to the negotiating table and put together a compromise that serves the working families, not the super wealthy."

"While I feel for the people of Wisconsin and Ohio who sincerely want investments in infrastructure and job creation, I am glad that California’s infant high speed rail program just got another boost," said Congressman Garamendi, a member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. "When completed, the Golden State will have a state of the art high speed rail system from Sacramento and San Francisco, through the Central Valley, all the way down to Los Angeles and San Diego. It’ll revolutionize how Californians commute and travel and create hundreds of thousands of jobs along the way."

"Today the American people saw a clear contrast in values," Garamendi said. "I think seniors who toiled for decades to create the America we love deserve to retire with dignity and financial security. My Republican colleagues unfortunately have different priorities."

A report released today by the Program for International Student Assessment revealed that America has dropped to 17th in the world in science and 25th in math educational performance. Our economic competitiveness demands that we must prioritize education over tax breaks for millionaires and billionaires.

"To repair our economy and create jobs, we need to put money in the hands of the people most likely to spend it," Congressman Garamendi said. "This package of tax cuts gives everyone a helping hand but wisely focuses on the needs of small businesses and working and middle class consumers: those most likely to purchase goods, drive consumer spending, and stimulate demand for new hiring."

"We must reduce our dependence on fossil fuels. Offshore oil drilling is best left in the dustbins of history. It’s dirty; it’s dangerous; it’s deadly," Congressman Garamendi said. "President Obama is wise to call for a seven year moratorium on new drilling leases on the East Coast. Oil poisons our air and water, wreaks havoc on our climate, and threatens jobs in many of our nation’s most important industries."

"We will not give up on people looking for a job. We were unable to get the necessary two-thirds of members of Congress to immediately move on an extension of unemployment benefits today. 454,500 California families continue to rely on their unemployment insurance checks to pay for food, mortgage and rent payments, and clothing, and this vital income is now imperiled."