Dear friend,
As our country emerges from the grips of the COVID-19 pandemic and continues on the long road to economic prosperity, jobs are one of the most important metrics to look at when gauging how well our economy is recovering.
The US is on pace to add over 6 million jobs to the economy by the end of the year, but most of these aren't new job creation; they're jobs returning to the market after being eliminated during the pandemic. Nonetheless, if our recovery continues at its current rate, the labor market will return to pre-pandemic conditions by the end of 2022.
Even though Biden is still over 1 million jobs short of his promise with this spring's American Rescue Plan, the jobs returning to the market are a good sign. Unemployment fell to 4.2% at the end of November.
I am a firm believer in the importance of small businesses not only to our local economies, but to the nation at-large. I made a career in business - I've experienced both successes and failures in the private sector. I understand what small business owners need from the federal government - unlike most in the federal government.
I'm proud to have been a part of multiple Congressional efforts to assist the return of a strong American workforce:
- The Employee Retention Tax Credit (ERTC) Act - a bipartisan bill to reinstate the ERTC, which helped many businesses during the pandemic maintain staff and pay for health insurance costs and wages.
- Developing Responsible Individuals for a Vibrant Economy Act - addresses the shortage of truck drivers by creating a two-step apprenticeship program to ensure that drivers under the age of 21 who have obtained their commercial driver's license are fully and safely prepared to participate in interstate commerce.
- Keystone XL Pipeline Construction and Jobs Preservation Act - authorizes the TransCanada Keystone Pipeline to construct and operate facilities in Montana for the purpose of importing oil from Canada to the US, as well as creating new jobs in the energy sector.
Job creation and small business support has been the most bipartisan issue in Congress this year. I am proud to be one of the few Congressional leaders who has owned and operated a small business. My colleagues and I all want to see Americans at work again.
Many of the Democrats' policies this year have tried to take advantage of the pandemic in order to create a cradle-to-grave welfare state, a dangerous move that would ensure our workforce never recovers.
In the new year, I'll continue to support small businesses and job creators as they drive economic recovery in communities around the nation.
If you wish to receive legislative updates from my office in the new year, please subscribe to my newsletter, The Hern Roundup, here.