There’s substantial progress unfolding in the push to make the U.S. economy better for the country’s millions of residents, and Hillary Clinton rallied Americans behind some of the recent success in a public statement shared via Twitter.
“528,000 jobs in July and a 3.5% unemployment rate. A historic deal to reduce inflation, invest in health care, and tackle climate change with clean energy. The fastest decline in gas prices we’ve seen in a decade. Thanks, Biden,” Clinton remarked. The deal Clinton referenced is a reconciliation package recently unveiled in the Senate, which scored the support at this stage of Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.), a key moderate — without whom the initiative couldn’t move forward. (Another key moderate Democrat, West Virginia’s Joe Manchin, was already onboard.) The nature of the deal means Democrats can pass it in the Senate without needing a single Republican vote. As retaliation for the deal’s unveiling, GOP leadership in the House pushed Republicans to vote against a separate legislative package providing support to the U.S. tech industry, but that bill passed — with dozens of Republican votes — anyway.
528,000 jobs in July and a 3.5% unemployment rate.
A historic deal to reduce inflation, invest in health care, and tackle climate change with clean energy.
The fastest decline in gas prices we've seen in a decade.
Thanks, Biden.
— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) August 5, 2022
The unemployment rate that Clinton mentioned is on the level of the lowest seen in over fifty years after dropping one-tenths of a percentage point from the unemployment level in June. With the number of jobs that U.S. employers added in July factored into the calculations, it’s now clear the country regained the jobs level seen before the major onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States. The number of jobs added to the U.S. economy in July was significantly above economists’ expectations for the month and the number of jobs added the previous month, 398,000. The bill supporting the tech industry essentially amounts to another jobs initiative from Biden and Congressional Democrats.
As reported here, it would provide tens of billions in subsidies in support of the U.S. production of semiconductor chips, which are a critical and widely used technological component, and some $100 billion in federal support for research and the development of new businesses in tech-related areas. Biden characterized the bill as set to bring down costs for items throughout the economy. Issues in obtaining necessary supplies of semiconductor chips were among contributors to the onset of recent high prices. In terms of supporting the U.S. job market, the bill broadly mirrors an initiative from the Biden administration and Democratic leaders that the president signed last year: the infrastructure package. That previous deal was slated to provide for years worth of projects around the country.
Alongside a series of fact sheets outlining progress made in the implementation of the infrastructure deal around the U.S., the Biden administration said: “The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is rebuilding our roads and bridges, replacing lead pipes to provide clean water, providing high-speed internet to every family in America, delivering cheaper and cleaner energy to households and businesses, and creating good-paying jobs.” There are detailed fact sheets available showing initiatives in what appears to be every U.S. state and territory, along with D.C. and indigenous communities.
