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Congresswoman Elizabeth Esty

Representing the 5th District of Connecticut

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Jobs and the Economy

Across the 5th District, I’ve heard from business owners, educators, young people and parents that we need to redouble our efforts on middle-class job creation. Too many young people do not see Connecticut as a place of opportunity and our businesses are looking for skilled workers to help their companies to grow and thrive.  We have a real opportunity to set a thoughtful course to long-term job growth and rebuilding a robust middle class in the 5th District, in Connecticut and across our country.

American workers can and do compete with the best in the world – but they need the benefit of a level playing field.  That means closing tax loopholes that reward companies who ship our jobs oversees, and it means enforcing our trades laws.

Here at home, we need to reward innovation and ensure businesses in our community have the support they need to grow and compete. We must invest in research and development in the clean energy sector to create good jobs in technology, manufacturing and construction. We must help our small business thrive, innovate and hire by providing access to capital, reducing unnecessary red tape, and making sure small business taxes are fair and encourage growth. We must also ensure our workers have the skills those businesses need to compete with skills training and investments in our community colleges.

Finally, we must make strategic investments in long-term growth – infrastructure, energy and education.  For our economy to recover, we must be willing to invest in that recovery.

For more information on my work and views on growing our economy or to let me know your thoughts, questions or concerns, please contact me. I look forward to hearing from you.

More on Jobs and the Economy

November 27, 2018 Press Release

A Senate amendment to Congresswoman Elizabeth Esty’s (CT-05) bipartisan Women in Aerospace Education Act (H.R. 4254) passed the U.S. House of Representatives by voice vote earlier this afternoon. The Women in Aerospace Education Act first passed the House in December 2017 by a vote of 409 to 17, was amended and passed the Senate by unanimous consent in late September, 2018. The Women in Aerospace Education Act now awaits President Donald Trump’s signature.

October 31, 2018 Press Release
Congresswoman Elizabeth Esty (CT-5) introduced H.R. 7094, the Get to Yes or No Faster Act. The bill, which was the result of a collaboration with Esty’s STEM Advisory Board, would direct the National Science Foundation (NSF) to research methods that will decrease the workload for applicants and accelerate the decision-making process for awarding grants under the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs. Moreover, this bill would direct NSF to report to Congress on how it can improve its grants application process. Esty introduced this bill with Republican Rep. John Moolenaar (MI-4).
September 26, 2018 Press Release
Today, Congresswoman Elizabeth Esty (CT-5) praised the passage of H.R. 302, the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018. The measure passed the House by a vote of 398-23. Additionally, Esty was able to secure her bill, H.R. 4673, the Promoting Women in the Aviation Workforce Act, into the final text of the overall bill as well.
August 2, 2018 Press Release

WASHINGTON, D.C.–Tomorrow, Congresswoman Elizabeth Esty (CT-5), Congresswoman Barbara Comstock (VA-10), and Congressman David Cicilline (RI-01) will introduce the Innovative Materials for American Growth and Infrastructure Newly Expanded (IMAGINE) Act. The bill would encourage the research and use of innovative construction materials. The move to use more innovative materials would extend the lifecycle of water and transportation infrastructure projects that are more resilient to flooding and corrosion.

July 19, 2018 Press Release
Today, Congresswoman Elizabeth Esty (CT-5) remarked on the passage of H.R. 6147, the Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act for Fiscal Year (FY) 2019, which included Esty’s amendment to increase funding to brownfields projects by $7 million. Esty introduced the amendment with Republican David McKinley (WV-1), which passed the House by voice vote. The final bill passed the House by a vote of 217-199.
July 10, 2018 Press Release
U.S. Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) and U.S. Representatives John Larson (CT-1), Joe Courtney (CT-2), Rosa DeLauro (CT-3), Jim Himes (CT-4), and Elizabeth Esty (CT-5), sent a letter to President Trump urging the administration to grant Governor Dannel P. Malloy’s request for a presidential disaster declaration arising from a series of powerful supercell thunderstorms that hit Connecticut on May 15, 2018.
June 8, 2018 Press Release

WASHINGTON, D.C.–Congresswoman Elizabeth Esty (CT-5) released the following statement after the House of Representatives voted last night to pass her amendment to the Mini-Bus, which would allocate an additional $500,000 in funding and resources to the Office of Employee Assistance (OEA). OEA is primarily responsible for assisting employees whose job performance may be negatively affected by personal and professional problems. The amendment passed by voice vote. 

June 7, 2018 Press Release

WASHINGTON, D.C.–Today, Rep. Elizabeth Esty (CT-5) released the following statement after the House of Representatives voted last night to pass H.R. 8, the Water Resources and Development Act (WRDA) of 2018, by a vote of 408-2. The bill also included a new amendment, introduced by Esty, that will direct the National Academy of Sciences to study how the Army Corps of Engineers currently calculates the benefits of potential Corps projects, and what they can do to improve that calculation so that more worthwhile projects are approved.

May 31, 2018 Press Release

Hartford, CT—Today, U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) and U.S. Representatives John Larson (CT-1) and Elizabeth Esty (CT-5) announced a $1.5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) to FuelCell Energy, Inc. for hydrogen production research and development (R&D) that is compatible with nuclear energy sources.
 

May 18, 2018 Press Release
This afternoon, Rep. Elizabeth Esty (CT-5) released the following statement after voting in opposition to the 2018 Federal Agriculture Reform and Risk Management (FARM) Act. The bill, would cut $23 billion from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) over the next ten years. It is estimated that one million households will be kicked off the program, with millions more who will have their benefits reduced. Additionally, 265,000 kids will be removed from receiving free school meals.