WASHINGTON - Today, Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA) introduced the Rebuild America Act, a far-reaching bill that will create jobs, restore fairness to the tax code, and rebuild America's middle class through investments in areas like education and workforce training, our nation's infrastructure, manufacturing jobs, and retirement security. After a year of hearings and events in Washington and Iowa, Harkin, the Chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, developed the bill to combat the middle class squeeze that is holding back our economic recovery, and lay the groundwork for a bright future in the global economy.
“In recent years, many in Washington have been pushing not just misguided budgets, but a dangerously misguided premise - that America is broke, and that we can no longer afford the investments that make possible a strong middle class and a world-class economy. I strongly disagree," said Harkin. “The Rebuild America Act puts policies in place that will repair the engine that drives our nation's economic growth: the middle class. It creates the good jobs families need now through robust investments in America and will help grow the middle class in the long term by building economic opportunity for families. Perhaps most importantly, the bill addresses spiraling economic inequality by restoring fairness and balance to our tax code, which also fully pays for the cost of the bill."
The Rebuild America Act tackles the problem of our shrinking middle class in three ways: by taking immediate steps to create jobs and kick-start the economy, by implementing policies that will help families achieve financial security and expand the middle class, and by paying for these new investments through a balanced tax code that reduces inequality and fosters economic growth. The bill will:
Invest in America to Create Jobs and Future Growthby modernizing our transportation and energy infrastructures, bringing our schools and community colleges into the 21st century, preparing our workers for jobs of the future, and directing the creation of a national manufacturing strategy.
Create Financial Stability and a Better Future for Middle Class Families by increasing access to quality child care, expanding time-and-a-half overtime pay, establishing a fair minimum wage, allowing all Americans to earn paid sick leave, ensuring that Americans have the right to join a union, opening new paths to the middle class for people with disabilities, and strengthening Social Security.
Restore Balance and Fairness to the Tax Code by instituting the “Buffett Rule," adopting a Wall Street trading and speculators tax, ending tax breaks for companies that ship jobs overseas, and protecting pensions.
Harkin’s legislation enjoys broad support from advocates for middle class Americans.
“Senator Harkin recognizes that a strong and stable middle class is critical to America’s growth now and in the future," said Center for American Progress President Neera Tanden. “The Rebuild America Act tackles some of the most immediate challenges facing America’s economy today, ranging from the rising costs of colleges to stagnant wages to the shortage of skilled workers in key industries. By leveraging federal investments and encouraging key industry partnerships, this legislation would make great strides in helping to prepare America’s workers for the jobs of tomorrow and improving economic security for working families, while also restoring fairness to the tax code. Senator Harkin has a long history of defending the middle class and I commend him for his continued leadership on these issues."
“The ‘Rebuild America Act’ is the first piece of proposed legislation in the last decade that comprehensively addresses all of the far-ranging systemic problems confronting the American economy and the nation’s workers," said Leo Hindery, Chair of the U.S. Economy/Smart Globalization Initiative at the New America Foundation. “By addressing, at once, upgraded infrastructure, better education, fair wages, trade reform, tax reform and the imperative for a much larger, more stable manufacturing sector - each with identified objectives and outcomes - we can finally contemplate a tapestry of initiatives that will truly reinvigorate the middle class, achieve near full real employment, and eliminate our massive trade deficit in manufactured goods."
“The Rebuild America Act would raise the minimum wage, protect overtime pay and workers’ right to stand together, and fund investments in education, child care and infrastructure," said Debra Ness, President of the National Partnership for Women & Families. “It is an ambitious, comprehensive bill that addresses the real issues facing America’s families. It would surely go a long way in moving the country forward."
A detailed summary of Harkin’s legislation is below:
The Rebuild America Act
Title 1: Invest in America to Create Jobs and Future Growth
As our economy continues to recover from the worst economic period since the Great Depression, we need to invest more wisely in programs that will create jobs and lay the groundwork for future growth. For decades, we have allowed the infrastructure that our nation’s prosperity is built upon to crumble. Our roads and bridges are outdated and unsafe, our education system is falling behind our global competitors, and too many factories are shuttered. To rebuild America’s foundation to create future growth, we must:
Title 2: Create Financial Stability and a Better Future for Middle Class Families
Until the 1970s, Americans’ wages rose in tandem with productivity growth. Since then, wages have stagnated even as Americans work longer hours and produce more. To help families stay in the middle class, we must help families’ wages go farther and create more good-paying jobs with benefits that help families care for their children and plan for a secure retirement. To rebuild support structures that allow our families to prosper, we must:
Title 3: Restore Fairness to the Tax Code
One of the reasons America’s middle class is struggling is that our tax code has become tilted in favor of very wealthy individuals and large corporations. Falling revenues have increased the deficit and made it impossible to invest in America. The Act will help to restore balance to the tax code that is critical for reducing inequality and fostering sustainable long-term economic growth while ensuring fiscal responsibility. To balance our tax code, we must:
