I believe that America's working families are the backbone of our economy and country. As such, I am fighting in Congress for policies that will strenghten America's middle class by creating good jobs that pay fair wages and offer workers the benefits they deserve. From rights in the workplace to consumer protections, affordable health care and support for small businesses, each policy impacts the economic well-being of our country. After years of financial sector deregulation and the subsequent housing crisis that led to the Great Recession, I have supported aggressive policies to create jobs and regulate a reckless financial sector in order to get our economy back on track. I am proud of the progress that has been made, and will fight to stop the current administration from taking us back down the same fateful path that caused the Great Recession.

Yet still many workers haven't seen a real rise in pay in the past 30 years and inequality is at an all-time high. Wealthiest Americans continue to reap the largest benefits from the economic recovery. Our workers can’t afford another recession - some paychecks have just began to grow and we still have a long way to go before wages catch up with the current cost of living, especially for women and communities of color. 

Now is the time for comprehensive solutions to rewrite the rules of our economy so it works for all Americans, not just the wealthy. Some of the policies I have championed during my time in Congress include: Medicare For All, debt-free college, raising the federal minimum wage, expanding Social Security, moving to 100 percent renewable energy, comprehensive immigration reform and paid leave and child care. As co-chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, I release a budget proposal every year that charts a course of responsible economic growth and investments to help working Americans get ahead. In contrast to the Republican plan, this budget reinvests in American families, prioritizing funding for education, infrastructure, jobs, clean air, and water all while ensuring that the largest corporations and the wealthiest Americans pay their fair share. The Economic Policy Institute released an analysis of The People’s Budget, which can be found here. 

Unfortunately, the new Trump tax cut for the largest corporations, wealthy oil companies and the richest 1% is a recipe for economic decline. The notion that the gains of the uber-wealthy and largest corporations will "trickle-down" to workers has proven to be false time after time. Despite promises to help the working class, this administration has dismantled overtime pay, overturned rules that prevented financial advisors from cheating clients, undermined workers’ rights to organize, and attacked the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The president's policies have attacked immigrants, social safety nets and those with disabilities, despite economic evidence that immigration reform is an overwhelming benefit to our nation and that social safety nets lift people out of poverty.