Economy and Jobs

"Today I fought to save the Patients’ Bill of Rights and protect patients and consumers from the greed of insurance companies. Unfortunately, the House Republican majority voted to set up a vote next week that will force seniors to pay thousands of dollars out-of-pocket for prescription drugs, to allow insurance companies to kick you off your insurance when you get sick, and to deprive you of needed preventative screenings recommended by your doctor," said Congressman Garamendi, a former health care advisor to President Bill Clinton.

"House Republicans today clearly signaled their out-of-touch priorities, proposing a rule that will eliminate hundreds of thousands of jobs and drive up our deficit by $5 trillion. The American people have made it clear that they want jobs. Where are the jobs in this plan?"

"For more than a century, America led the world in scientific innovation, and this commitment to research and education put millions of Americans to work while making our great country the world’s economic superpower. With COMPETES, Democrats are committed to making sure that America stays in business," said Garamendi, a member of the House Committee for Science and Technology.

"President Franklin D. Roosevelt once said, ‘The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little.’ Congress failed this test.

"The potential solar energy zones identified by the Administration today provide America with an opportunity to tackle the most pressing challenges of our time," Congressman Garamendi said. "We can create quality American jobs manufacturing solar panels if we Make It In America – ending our addiction to foreign oil, bolstering national security, and making American manufacturers more competitive in the global Clean Energy Race that will determine the winners and losers of the 21st century."

"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."