The Majority Leader’s Office is now sending a weekly e-mail highlighting economic statistics and news that Members can use as they discuss the state of the economy and how House Democrats are working to spur economic growth, support job creation, and raise wages for the people.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK: "U.S. economic growth slowed again in the third quarter, down to an annualized pace of just 1.9 percent… 1.9 percent is a far cry from the ‘4 percent, 5 percent and even 6 percent’ growth rates that Trump once promised to deliver. More to the point, the rate is way lower than you’d expect given the massive fiscal stimulus policymakers have been pumping into the economy. We were told that the GOP’s corporate tax cuts alone would permanently turbocharge growth to at least 3 percent. Instead, Trump spent $2 trillion in deficit-financed tax cuts for the rich to get us basically the same growth rate we had before he took office. The mechanism by which Trump’s signature legislative achievement was supposed to turbocharge growth, according to the tax cut’s advocates, was by stimulating business investment. Instead, business investment fell last quarter, in the second consecutive quarter of contraction.” [Catherine Rampell, Washington Post Opinion, 10/31/19]

STAT OF THE WEEK: “The Commerce Department on Wednesday said the U.S. economy grew at a 1.9 percent annualized pace from July through September, far short of the 3 percent sustained clip that the White House promised would result from the 2017 tax cut law.” [Washington Post, 10/30/19]

ECONOMIC NEWS YOU MAY HAVE MISSED

• The GOP tax cut didn’t fulfill the President’s promises. “The cornerstone of President Trump’s domestic economic agenda is the tax cut he signed into law in late 2017. It would, he said, lift U.S. sustained annual economic growth to 3%, or even as high as 6%. His advisers said it would boost average household incomes by at least $4,000 a year. His Treasury secretary said it would pay for itself. Nearly two years later, none of those things have happened, and there is scant sign they will.” [WSJ, 10/30/19]
• For dozens of economic analysts, trade uncertainty and protectionism are a threat to our economy. “In the survey's latest release, analysts cited trade policy as ‘the dominant risk’ to America's economic momentum, as 53% of experts considered it ‘the key downside risk to the economy through 2020.’” [U.S. News, 10/07/19]
• The manufacturing sector is contracting. “Even as the $21 trillion U.S. economy continues growing, and unemployment hovers at a half-century low, factory activity has contracted for two consecutive months, according to the closely watched Institute for Supply Management index.”  [Washington Post, 10/29/19]
• When unemployment is low, more Americans should have health care coverage. Apparently, not under this Administration. “Between 2016 and 2018, children’s enrollment in Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program dropped from 35 percent to 34.3 percent. Enrollment in health plans purchased on the individual market declined from 5.8 percent to 5.2 percent during the same time period.” [Washington Post, 10/30/19]
• The climate crisis has an impact on the global economy. “As temperatures continue to move higher, the economic impacts will be wide-ranging. Uncertainty about climate risks and the impact of mitigation measures creates a disincentive for businesses to invest. Higher temperatures reduce labor productivity. The need for climate adaptation diverts resources away from more productive uses. And while the transition to a low-carbon economy brings new opportunities, a trade-off between emissions and growth may be tough to avoid.” [Bloomberg, 10/29/19]