Congressman Waxman believes the top priority for this Congress should be putting America back to work. When President Obama was sworn into office, our country was facing the greatest economic crisis since the Great Depression. In an effort to put America back on track, Congressman Waxman has worked with President Obama and colleagues in Congress to enact legislation that is setting the course for sustained economic growth into the future.
Democrats in the House continue to focus on the economy and bringing down the unemployment rate in order to restore job security. In the 111th Congress, the GOP voted in lock step against job creation, tax cuts and recovery efforts and instead supported special interest groups like oil and insurance companies. Those economic policies brought us the Bush recession with Americans facing job losses of nearly 800,000 a month and the economy contracting by more than 6 percent. Congressman Waxman was a strong supporter of the American Recovery Act and other job-creation efforts that continue to spur an economic recovery from Republican failures.
From 2007 - 2010, Congressman Waxman and the Democratic-led Congress implemented a broad economic plan to bring opportunity and fiscal security to all Americans, not just the wealthy few by raising the minimum wage, providing recovery rebates for more than 130 million American families and passing the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to jumpstart our economy. These efforts created and saved 3.5 million jobs, offer 98% of American working families and individuals a tax cut, and rebuild America's road, rail, and water infrastructure.
Henry Waxman supports an economic approach that lifts every American, not just the privileged few. The average American CEO earns more before lunchtime in one day than a minimum wage worker earns all year. The Democrat's Make it in America agenda restores the American Dream for our children and revitalizes manufacturing in America, which in turn creates new good-paying jobs. Congressman Waxman's efforts build upon House Democrats' actions since the start of the Bush Recession to create jobs and lay a strong new foundation for our economy.
Congressman Waxman was instrumental in the passage of the Affordable Care act which gives the American people control over their health care. Since the President signed the Affordable Care Act into law, the economy has created over 1 million private sector jobs. Republican efforts to repeal this legislation would hamper important economic progress by increasing costs on individuals and businesses, weakening the benefits and protections that Americans with private insurance are already enjoying, and adding more than a trillion dollars to our deficits. Opponents' claim that the law is "job-killing" is in direct contradiction to what has actually been happening in the economy since enactment.
Repealing the Affordable Care Act would have a devastating impact on our economy. In addition to hurting some of the economic progress that has been made, the Congressional Budget Office found that repealing the law would add over a quarter of a trillion dollars -- $230 billion to the deficit in the first decade, and more than a trillion dollars in the second decade, increase the number of uninsured by 32 million Americans, increase premiums for large employers, and forces consumers who buy coverage on the individual market to pay more out of pocket for fewer benefits.
Congressman Waxman continues to fight against Republican efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act, defending the interest of families, businesses, and our economy.