Extending the Payroll Tax Cut for American Families, A Victory for Equality

Extending the Payroll Tax Cut for American Families
Congress must not go home for the holidays until we extend the payroll tax cut and unemployment insurance, two essential pieces of the President’s American Jobs Act. Extending and expanding the payroll tax cut would put $1,500 into the pocket of the typical middle class working American family next year. And if unemployment insurance—every dollar of which yields $1.52 in economic growth—expires, hundreds of thousands of jobs would be lost. Instead of protecting massive tax cuts for the one percent, Republicans should come back to the table and work with Democrats to provide relief to middle class families.

Last week, the Department of Labor reported that the economy gained 120,000 jobs in November and the unemployment rate fell to 8.6 percent. The jobs report sends a clear message: we've made some progress but we still have work to do.

My colleagues and I are committed to initiatives that spur our economy, create more jobs, and put money in the pockets of the American people. Our “Make It in America” initiatives, along with President Obama’s American Jobs Act, will put more money in workers’ pockets, help small businesses grow and hire, and rebuild America’s roads, bridges, and schools while keeping teachers in the classroom, firefighters on the job, and cops on the beat.

Congresswoman Pelosi tours the Richardson Apartments in San Francisco to celebrate the Sustainable Communities grant awarded to the Metropolitan Transportation Commission to create jobs and affordable housing.

Seniors Saving More Under the Affordable Care Act
On Tuesday, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced 2.65 million Medicare beneficiaries have benefited from the 50 percent discount on brand-name drugs for those in the Medicare Part D ‘donut hole’ coverage gap. This provision, passed under the Affordable Care Act passed by Democrats last year, has saved beneficiaries $1.5 billion – averaging about $569 per person. Additionally, more than 24.2 million people enrolled in traditional Medicare have taken advantage of free preventive benefits under the act, including 1.9 million individuals who have taken advantage of the new free Annual Wellness Visit.

A Victory for Equality
This week, President Obama announced a series of steps to advance the human rights of LGBT persons around the world. The President’s directive strengthens our voice on behalf of LGBT rights across the globe, and takes the bold steps of tying our foreign assistance decisions to a country’s record on LGBT issues and providing equal access to assistance and aid to LGBT refugees and asylum seekers. In acting to promote and preserve the safety and freedom of LGBT communities worldwide, President Obama reaffirmed a basic promise: no matter whom you love and where you live, the United States will stand strong for your fundamental human rights.

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