3.7 Million Lost Jobs Cost $15 Per Hour

Statement

Today, Rep. Phil Roe (R-Tenn.) released the following statement after voting against H.R. 582, the Raise the Wage Act:

"We have a booming economy -- the strongest in my lifetime -- with overall wages higher than ever before, hourly earnings up 3.1 percent in the last 12 months and 7.3 million jobs currently available. After a week in which House Democrats held votes to condemn the president, to hold his advisors in contempt and to impeach the president, House Democrats capped this week by voting to undo the economic progress President Trump and Republicans have made. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimated their bill could eliminate 3.7 million jobs and reduce total real income by over $9 billion by 2025. The bill will be particularly detrimental to rural America, with Tennessee estimated to lose 66,313 jobs under this proposal. Voting against this proposal, which is going nowhere in the Senate, is common sense. What Congress should be doing is implementing legislation that gives citizens the opportunities and tools they need to get out of poverty and seek higher-paying jobs."

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