Congress Has Passed 13 Laws This Year—None of Them Have to Do With Jobs
It's tough to draw a decisive conclusion from the jobs report out this morning, but one thing is clear: At this rate, it will take nearly a decade to return to prerecession employment levels. As a single data point, it's neither bad nor great—make of it what you will. As part of a constellation of data points, it's part of a steady, though slow, jobs recovery.
When the latest jobs report came out this morning, Business Insider's Joe Wiesenthal and Reuters' Felix Salmon summed it up quickly as dubious:
Healthy job creation AND high unemployment! RT @thestalwart: That's goldilocks for the market.
— felix salmon (@felixsalmon) June 7, 2013
The economy added 175,000 jobs last month, maintaining a recent trend of sub-200,000 monthly jobs growth. At the current rate, it would take 9.5 years to reach prerecession employment levels, according to the Hamilton Project's Jobs Gap calculator. Even if the economy were to consistently start growing by 200,000 jobs a month, it would take 7.5 years to return to prerecession employment levels.
In the six months and four days since the 113th Congress began, it has passed 13 laws. And, despite lawmakers constantly beating the drum on boosting jobs, none of the new measures have been focused on employment. Here's a list of what the 113th Congress has passed in its first six months:
H.R.41: To temporarily increase the borrowing authority of the Federal Emergency Management Agency for carrying out the National Flood Insurance Program.
Sponsor: Rep Garrett, Scott [NJ-5] (introduced 1/3/2013) Cosponsors (44)H.R.152: Disaster Relief Appropriations Act, 2013
Sponsor: Rep Rogers, Harold [KY-5] (introduced 1/4/2013) Cosponsors (None)H.R.325: No Budget, No Pay Act of 2013
Sponsor: Rep Camp, Dave [MI-4] (introduced 1/21/2013) Cosponsors (1)S.47: Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2013
Sponsor: Sen Leahy, Patrick J. [VT] (introduced 1/22/2013) Cosponsors (61)H.R.307: Pandemic and All-Hazards Preparedness Reauthorization Act of 2013
Sponsor: Rep Rogers, Mike J. [MI-8] (introduced 1/18/2013) Cosponsors (5)H.R.933: Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2013
Sponsor: Rep Rogers, Harold [KY-5] (introduced 3/4/2013) Cosponsors (None)S.716: A bill to modify the requirements under the STOCK Act regarding online access to certain financial disclosure statements and related forms.
Sponsor: Sen Reid, Harry [NV] (introduced 4/11/2013) Cosponsors (None)H.R.1246: District of Columbia Chief Financial Officer Vacancy Act
Sponsor: Rep Norton, Eleanor Holmes [DC] (introduced 3/19/2013) Cosponsors (None)H.R.1765: Reducing Flight Delays Act of 2013
Sponsor: Rep Latham, Tom [IA-3] (introduced 4/26/2013) Cosponsors (None)H.R.1071: To specify the size of the precious-metal blanks that will be used in the production of the National Baseball Hall of Fame commemorative coins.
Sponsor: Rep Hanna, Richard L. [NY-22] (introduced 3/12/2013) Cosponsors (2)H.R.360: To award posthumously a Congressional Gold Medal to Addie Mae Collins, Denise McNair, Carole Robertson, and Cynthia Wesley to commemorate the lives they lost 50 years ago in the bombing of the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church, where these 4 little Black girls' ultimate sacrifice served as a catalyst for the Civil Rights Movement.
Sponsor: Rep Sewell, Terri A. [AL-7] (introduced 1/23/2013) Cosponsors (301)H.R.258: Stolen Valor Act of 2013
Sponsor: Rep Heck, Joseph J. [NV-3] (introduced 1/15/2013) Cosponsors (127)S.982: Freedom to Fish Act
Sponsor: Sen Alexander, Lamar [TN] (introduced 5/16/2013) Cosponsors (3)
