Chair Hoyer Remarks Following Regional Leadership Council Meeting at the White House
WASHINGTON, DC – Congressman Steny H. Hoyer (MD-05), Chair of the Regional Leadership Council (RLC), delivered the following remarks after a Regional Leadership Council meeting at the White House this morning. On the first day of the August District Work Period, the Regional Leadership Council joined White House officials for a conversation on the progress that Democrats have made in implementing the Investing in America agenda, with a focus on equity and outreach. Below is a transcript of Chair Hoyer's remarks:
“[I’m with] the Regional Leadership Council, seven of them are here, we have twelve, we have twelve regions around the country, and our job has been since the beginning of this Congress is to tell the American people how much we did for them in the last Congress, the 117th Congress.
“It's so many different areas that their communities needed, their states needed, their children needed, and they needed – dealing with all sorts of things in four extraordinary bills. Actually six including the PACT Act, that we did for veterans, and the [Bipartisan Safer] Communities Act, that we did for law enforcement to make sure that our communities were safe.
“Of course, the American Rescue Plan, the Infrastructure Bill, the CHIPS and Science bill, and then the Inflation Reduction Act.
“First of all, let me say we're having real success. We're having real success in the sense that we have now 2.8 million jobs that have been created in the manufacturing community. Inflation is now at a [two] year low at 3%. GDP increased this month, 2.4%. 13.2 million jobs, the most jobs created in two years at any time in America's history.
“So, what we did is working in every front of the economy.
“Who says so? The Wall Street Journal says so. Who says so? Many other publications. Who says so? The private sector that is investing in manufacturing and job creation at levels that are unprecedented.
“The American people need to have that confidence that that needs to happen. The Regional Council…Chairman Jeffries appointed and has asked me to head working with the White House very closely. And we met today with the Deputy Chair [and] Deputy Chief of Staff of the White House. We met with Mitch Landrieu, who's heading up the infrastructure implementation, which, by the way, we now have 37,000 projects underway as a result of the Infrastructure Bill passed just a little over a year ago — it's making a difference.
“The economy is reflecting that, every one of the indicators [is] reflecting that. This is an effort that President Biden wanted to pursue, Leader Jeffries, soon to be Speaker, wanted to do. And he's asked all of us, each of these regional leaders is working with all of their states, some of which, by the way, have representatives who did not vote for any of this legislation now they are claiming ground for some of the good things they like.
“We're getting people connected.
“We're getting drug prices down.
“We're getting health care costs down, subsidies for the ACA that were extended under the Inflation Reduction Act.
“And we're investing in getting the cost of insulin down, saving people literally thousands of dollars a year for things they must have to stay alive.
“So, we had a very good meeting today, and we're going to continue these meetings. [The] President is on his way to Maine today to take the message to the American people — this is what we did, this is what you can take advantage of in every area of your life that will make you better, make America stronger and more successful.”