OUR STATE and economy are in a very different position than a year ago.
This time last year, inflation was at one of the highest rates in decades, squeezing families at the grocery store and the gas pump. Energy prices skyrocketed as Russia waged war against Ukraine and threatened international supply chains. Small businesses couldn’t find the employees they needed.
In the face of those challenges, congressional Democrats and President Biden took action to lower costs, strengthen the workforce, and get our economy back on track.
We began implementing game-changing legislation like the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, Inflation Reduction Act, and CHIPS and Science Act to tackle these challenges, invest in infrastructure, and ease rising costs and tangled supply chains.
Now, we are starting to see real results. Inflation is at the lowest level in more than two years, our workforce is expanding, and the economy is on the mend, growing by 2.4% in the second quarter of this year and exceeding projections. While this progress is encouraging, more work remains.
That’s what I’m fighting for in Congress as Chair of the New Democrat Coalition and why we worked to develop our Economic Opportunity Agenda, a legislative roadmap to seize this moment and build on our economic progress.
Workforce
New Hampshire has the lowest unemployment rate in the country, and employers are still struggling to hire the workers they need. We must invest in the next generation of workers to fuel our economy and ensure small and large businesses have the staff they need to compete in the 21st-century economy.
Our agenda lays out a plan to invest in workforce development, help employees break into new careers, and increase legal immigration pathways to ensure we have the workers to move our economy forward.
I’m especially proud that our agenda includes legislation inspired by a program at Nashua Community College to connect employers with qualified applicants through apprenticeships, unions, and community colleges across the country. By bridging the gap between employers and graduating students, we can get more people into their dream jobs faster and help businesses succeed.
Inflation
June 2023 marked the lowest inflation rate in over two years, providing much-needed relief to hardworking families. While this is a positive sign that what President Biden and Democrats in Congress have been fighting for is working, we must do more to lower costs across the board.
Our agenda details how to take full advantage of the Inflation Reduction Act and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to lower costs. These bills set the stage to transition us toward a clean energy economy and increase domestic energy production. Renewable energy is the cheapest form of energy we have — our agenda takes steps to expand the production of clean energy right here at home, which will lower costs, create good-paying jobs, and protect our economy from the whims of foreign adversaries.
We are already seeing the impact of this legislation in New Hampshire — our agenda will help us build on that progress and ensure every Granite Stater feels the benefits of lower-cost renewable energy.
Housing
New Hampshire’s vacancy rate is less than 1% — a healthy rate is 5%. We need to build more affordable housing to grow our economy and bring new families to our state. It’s unacceptable that to afford a two-bedroom apartment in New Hampshire, a family needs to make $70,000 a year, 37% more than the median income. We can and must do better.
Our agenda lays out a plan to bring more federal resources to New Hampshire to expand housing stock and incentivize builders to prioritize affordable housing. This plan also takes steps to strengthen our supply chains to ensure we have the materials to build new housing and end outdated zoning laws that prevent new units from being built.
Parts of our agenda are already being implemented, with new construction projects made possible by federal resources getting underway across New Hampshire. Earlier this month, the White House announced a new initiative to reduce barriers to affordable housing in communities across the country.
Supply chains
Our supply chains must be reliable so business owners can be confident they will have the resources to run their operations. That’s why our agenda includes a plan to streamline supply chains and invest in American manufacturing.
The CHIPS and Science Act laid the groundwork for this progress, and we are already seeing the impact here in New Hampshire. Onsemi in Hudson is a great example — this high-tech manufacturing firm was bolstered by the CHIPS and Science Act and is bringing hundreds of good-paying jobs to our state.
Together, we can build on the economic progress we made and ensure every family has a safe, affordable place to call home, workers are paid a fair wage, and everyone has the opportunity to thrive.
Democratic Congresswoman Annie Kuster represents New Hampshire’s Second Congressional District in Congress. She also serves as the Chair of the New Democrat Coalition.
