Economy and Jobs

"The financial crisis that cost our country eight million jobs and more than a million homes began in 2007 due to lax regulation, tangled regulatory agencies, and pure greed at many of our largest financial institutions," Congressman Garamendi said. "This Wall Street reform package passed today will help fix all these problems. With tough consumer protections, critical homeowner assistance, and significant improvements in financial regulation, we are putting America on a more stable and secure economic footing."

"Do we need any more of a lesson than what we now see in the Gulf of Mexico? Yet in the halls of this Congress, there are many representatives that have not learned," Congressman Garamendi said. "The Republican Party is still saying 'drill, baby, drill' when we know it’s really 'spill, baby, spill.' Today 400,000 Americans are sending the powerful message that there are better alternatives."

"If Senate Republicans want our economy to fail, they should keep on doing exactly what they’re doing. We are on a path to recovery, but without additional investments at this period of economic transition, we risk falling into a double dip recession. Jobs for teachers, nurses, construction workers, and young adults are on the line, and their success ultimately dictates the success of our country. If Senate Republicans care at all about this country and want to see everyday Americans thrive and succeed, then I hope they support this commonsense jobs bill."

"It is hard to understand why any member of Congress would oppose a bill that prohibits companies owned by foreign countries to be able to use limitless resources to influence elections here in America," Garamendi added. "If the DISCLOSE Act passes the Senate, Wall Street, insurance companies, Big Oil, and other special interests will have to disclose which elections they are trying to buy."

"We need to know what happened, why it happened, and who is responsible for the tragedy along the Gulf Coast," Congressman Garamendi said. "The bipartisan Commission must have all the tools it requires to ensure that BP and the other responsible parties are required to disclose all pertinent information to get to the facts of what went wrong."

"Once again, Congressional Democrats are standing with Main Street, fighting to make it easier for small businesses to expand and hire new workers," Congressman Garamendi said. "Our colleagues on the other side of the aisle have a different approach to handling our economy, preferring to let everyday folks fight for themselves while bailing out their upper crust friends with lavish tax breaks for the wealthy."

"The history of airline mergers coincides with thousands of layoffs as companies find ‘synergies’ in their merged workforces," said Congressman Garamendi. "It’s good that United has pledged to keep their employees at SFO, and we’ll be watching to make sure they keep their commitment."

"BP told us their platform was leaking 5,000 barrels of oil a day. Once again, BP was wrong, and they should be held accountable for the mess they’ve made," Congressman Garamendi said. "It is now projected that the Gulf Coast oil disaster is the equivalent to one Exxon-Valdez oil spill a week. We are left with one unshakable conclusion; platform drilling is simply too dangerous."