Rosa DeLauro is the Congresswoman from Connecticut’s Third Congressional District, which stretches from the Long Island Sound and New Haven, to the Naugatuck Valley and Waterbury. Rosa serves as the Chair of the House Appropriations Committee and sits on the Democratic Steering and Policy Committee, and she is the Chair of the Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education Appropriations Subcommittee, where she oversees our nation’s investments in education, health, and employment.
At the core of Rosa’s work is her fight for America’s working families. Rosa believes that we must raise the nation’s minimum wage, give all employees access to paid sick days, allow employees to take paid family and medical leave, and ensure equal pay for equal work. Every day, Rosa fights for legislation that would give all working families an opportunity to succeed.
With over 13 million unemployed across the country and a high unemployment rate in Connecticut, Rosa’s top priority continues to be putting people back to work. Only by creating good middle class jobs and setting a new direction for our economy can we hope for sustainable economic growth that allows us to compete in a 21st century global economy.
From supporting innovative small business and our manufacturing base to investments in education and scientific research, we must address the immediate jobs crisis and lay the foundation to create good, sustainable middle class jobs that cannot be outsourced and will lead to long-term economic growth.
According to the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office, middle-class and working-class Americans have seen their wages stagnate and median income fall over the past thirty years, even as the top 1% of Americans have seen their income triple to 23% of the total. Meanwhile 1 in 6 Americans are living in poverty.
We are also seeing more and more good jobs shipped overseas. According to the Economic Policy Institute, we have lost over 31,000 jobs in Connecticut, including 6,000 jobs in the 3rd District, over the last decade due to our trade deficit with China alone. At the same time, our infrastructure, the lifeblood of any economy, is crumbling with the American Society of Civil Engineers noting that, among other things, 35% of Connecticut’s bridges are structurally deficient or functionally obsolete, 47% of our major roads are in poor or mediocre condition, and we need an investment of $653 million over the next 20 years in our drinking water infrastructure.
Rosa’s plan aims to create jobs now and well into the future; preserves existing jobs and prevents unjust barriers to employment; builds the foundations for long-term growth by rebuilding our infrastructure and reviving the manufacturing sector; and helps working families to ensure they get the pay and benefits they deserve. Support for small businesses, innovative research and education is critical to creating jobs.