[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 10]
[House]
[Page 13628]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                     DEMOCRATS' MIDDLE CLASS AGENDA

  (Ms. BONAMICI asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute.)
  Ms. BONAMICI. Mr. Speaker, the economy is rebounding, but many of our 
constituents are still feeling the effects of the recession. Millions 
of people are still unemployed after losing jobs that never came back 
during the recovery.
  The recently passed Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act is a 
step that will help prepare Americans for in-demand jobs based on the 
needs of local businesses, resulting in a more skilled workforce and 
greater business productivity. But our failure to fully embrace and 
address this challenge is unacceptable. So today I rise to highlight 
the importance of investing in the true engine of our economy, the 
American worker.
  We have a great opportunity to build the middle class with a jump-
start agenda that focuses on American workers. This agenda incentivizes 
U.S. job creation, increases infrastructure investments, and raises the 
minimum wage, all of which will help workers find quality, stable 
employment. We still have a lot of work to do to rebuild our economy, 
but investing in American workers is the right path forward.

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