JOBS & THE ECONOMY
We need to bring down inflation while building an economy that it delivers for everybody, not just the wealthy.
As Chief Operating Officer of AND1 Basketball, I helped to employ thousands of workers in Southeast Pennsylvania and build a business that prioritized employee well being. We offered workers high wages and world-class benefits including robust healthcare, paid family leave, and paid medical leave. The results were a motivated workforce and benefits for our company, workers, and community. I then took that lesson and advocated for better business practices that focus not only on the quarterly bottom line, but also workers and our planet.
Unfortunately, far too many families struggle to make ends meet and keep up with rising costs. We need to ensure that the American Dream is available to everyone who is willing to work for it. We must ensure that workers can find high-quality jobs, businesses can grow, and costs are affordable for Pennsylvania families. I use my background in the private sector and expertise in supply chains to promote solutions that will lead to a more prosperous and equitable economy.
I am focused on making our economy work for working people by:
Leading the effort to beat back inflation. When inflation started going up, I was among the first in Congress to identify the problem and begin crafting solutions. I put my supply chain expertise to work and co-founded the New Democrat Inflation Working Group. I co-wrote the final report - which Forbes Magazine called “the best inflation fighting action plan to come out of Congress” - which made specific recommendations to increase the number of people in the workforce, further ease supply chain congestion, lower energy prices, and more.
Passing legislation to lower costs. I helped pass the Inflation Reduction Act which will “increase American competitiveness, address our climate crisis, lower costs for families, and fight inflation” according to five, both Democrat and Republican, former U.S. Treasury Secretaries. It will reduce the costs of prescription drugs, health insurance, and utilities. I also helped lead the effort to pass the CHIPS & Science Act, which will bring home supply chains for critical minerals and computer chips — necessary for everything from defense systems to cell phones — which will lower costs, decrease dependence on China, and create jobs.
Helping small businesses stay open through the pandemic. When the pandemic hit, small businesses were devastated. So I played an active role in enacting the bipartisan Paycheck Protection Program to provide small businesses with loans to keep employees on payroll, and I led an effort to ensure those loans were forgiven for the smallest of small businesses who most needed the relief. I continue to shine a light on small businesses and promote legislation to help Americans start and succeed in business. And we ran a highly successful jobs fair which helped companies find workers and workers find jobs.
Supporting unions and workers. The first step to improving our economy is to empower workers. That’s why I co-sponsored the Raise Wage Wage Act to responsibly increase our national minimum wage to $15 an hour. In addition, I led the effort to enact a historic twelve-week paid parental leave policy for federal workers, which I hope will be replicated for all Americans.
Promoting responsible spending. With inflation rising, we have to be all the more conscious of government spending. I am promoting legislation that spends taxpayer dollars responsibly and does not balloon our deficit.
Delivering infrastructure investments to PA. Infrastructure in America is nowhere near as good as it should be, which is why I was proud to push for the passage of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. This legislation delivers over $18 billion in investments to Pennsylvania which will create jobs and fix our roads, bridges, ports, airports, transit systems, and broadband, along while reducing our carbon footprint.