• Home
• About Amy
• Serving Minnesotans
• About Minnesota
• Issues/ Legislation
• Media Center
• Contact Amy
• FAQ

Sign Up for Our E-Newsletter

Fighting for the Middle Class
and Fiscal Responsibility

Minnesotans believe in hard work, fair play and personal responsibility. I do too. Minnesota has always stood for opportunity through hard work. Citizens of our state believe that no matter where you come from, if you work hard, you can achieve your dreams, give the gift of education to your children, and have security in your later years.

My grandpa was a miner, working 1,500 feet underground in the iron ore mines in northern Minnesota. He didn't graduate from high school, but he and my grandma saved money in a coffee can in the basement to send my dad to college. My mom was a second-grade teacher until she was 70. I grew up in a middle-class neighborhood, and I knew I'd always have to work hard to get where I wanted to go.

As I travel throughout Minnesota, I hear too often about how the American Dream no longer seems to be within reach for many working families.

Too many hard-working Minnesotans and Americans now struggle to make ends meet - squeezed by rising health care costs, soaring home mortgage payments, escalating gas prices and mounting bills for child-care and college tuition - and, increasingly, the care of an aging parent.

Families confront these rising expenses even as jobs pay less, provide fewer benefits and offer less economic security. Studies show that since 2000, the average family's income has dropped, while the costs of goods and services have skyrocketed. In the past two decades, prices for countless necessities have skyrocketed. Education has become especially expensive, with tuition and fees for college up over 230 percent. Across the board, goods and services are getting more expensive, and wages are not keeping up with the steep increase in the prices that Americans are facing.

I'm committed to working for economic policies that benefit all Americans. This means having a strong economy and robust job creation, energy prices and housing costs that middle-class families can afford, and a federal budget that allocates the tax burden fairly and pays our way rather than piling up debt for future generations.

As Minnesota's United States Senator, I have worked to strengthen our economy on behalf of middle-class families by:

• Giving a lift to workers' paychecks. In my first year in Congress, we passed the first minimum-wage increase in a decade. Americans earning the minimum-wage saw their hourly wage increase from $5.85 an hour to $7.25 an hour. Additionally, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act cut taxes for more than 95 percent of working families by providing a refundable tax credit of up to $400 for working individuals and $800 for working families. These efforts will help restore Americans' purchasing power, give a boost to the economy and send a message that America values hard work.
• Bringing fiscal responsibility back to Washington. Washington has to get its priorities right and start living within its means. That is why I support pay-as-you-go rules, which helped produce budget surpluses and a prosperous economy in the 1990s and can help bring fiscal discipline back to Washington now. Recently, I cosponsored S.1600, the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act, which would strengthen these provisions by giving them the force of law. In addition, I continued fighting to keep our budget on a responsible course through the 2010 Budget Resolution. The FY 2010 budget cuts the deficit by half in 2012 and by two-thirds by 2014, and I will continue to insist that Washington live within its means. I am also one of the few Democrats who advocated that Congress adopt a special process to address our nation's long-term fiscal imbalances so that we can finally get our federal deficits and debt under control.
• Reviving a weak economy. The American economy is currently experiencing a major slowdown. In response, Congress worked to pass the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act earlier this year.
  • The Recovery Act is putting Americans to work and providing relief to middle-class families. More than one-third of the package has gone to tax cuts for working Americans.
  • Nearly a third of the package has provided direct relief to state governments and individuals. Because of these funds, states have been able to avoid some layoffs and ensure a safety net for families hurt by the economic downturn. To help Americans who've lost their jobs, the Recovery Act has extended unemployment insurance and helped provide health care.
  • The final third of the package is being used to invest in urgent priorities -- such as our public infrastructure needs ranging from transportation to broadband to housing. We are putting Americans to work rebuilding roads, bridges and highways, weatherizing homes, and improving our schools.
• Promoting long-term economic growth and job creation. Long after the stimulus rebate checks have been spent, we will still need to promote economic growth and create jobs for the long run. We were able to add $35 billion to the Fiscal Year 2008 budget for long-term investments, including critical infrastructure projects that will create good jobs while addressing our country's pressing infrastructure needs.
• Addressing the Housing Crisis. I am committed to stabilizing the housing market and to keeping responsible homeowners in their homes. In my first months in the Senate, I introduced the First Time Homebuyers' Tax Credit to help first-time buyers of moderate income buy their first homes. Additionally, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act Congress passed earlier this year included a First Time Homebuyer Tax Credit of $8,000, which has helped many families achieve the American Dream of home ownership. I also supported the Helping Families Save Their Homes Act of 2009, which improved the Hope for Homeowners program by expanding eligibility and enabling homeowners who are "underwater" to refinance.

But we still have much to do to make sure that the economy works for middle-class Americans. We need to:

• Stimulate investment in the jobs of the future. In April, Senator Snowe (R-ME) and I introduced an updated version (S. 826) of our American Renewable Energy Act from the 110th Congress. The updated version of this bill sets a national renewable energy standard, requiring utilities to obtain 25 percent of their electricity from renewable sources by the year 2025. This provision is modeled after Minnesota's "25 by 25" law, which requires that 25 percent of electricity come from renewable sources by 2025. Minnesota's strong leadership demonstrates that, far from hurting an economy, well-designed policies can actually stimulate innovation and investment leading to new economic growth and new, good paying jobs.
• Make health care more affordable. Families are struggling to keep up with the rising costs of health care. Health care premiums have doubled in the last 10 years. We need to reduce costs and make health care more affordable. To rein in costs we need to have all health care providers aiming for high-quality, cost-effective results, as they do in Minnesota. We also need to allow for greater competition in the insurance industry and enable the federal government to negotiate drug prices with the pharmaceutical companies.
• Provide relief from skyrocketing energy costs. Our country has seen an unprecedented run-up in fuel costs, as gasoline topped $4 per gallon in many places by early summer 2008. These rapidly rising fuel costs further squeeze already tight family budgets. I have been working to make sure that energy markets operate under fair rules and that out-of-control speculation is not driving up oil prices. Last year, I worked with my colleagues to press the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate fraud in the energy markets. I also cosponsored legislation giving the Commodity Futures Trading Commission additional powers to crack down on excessive speculation. These steps, coupled with a bold, long-term energy policy, will reduce our dependence on foreign oil. This strategy should include investing in homegrown fuels such as ethanol and biodiesel; expanding wind, solar and geothermal power; drawing on safe nuclear power to meet our electricity needs, and expanding production from available oil fields. We must also make new technologies, including hybrid cars, more affordable and accessible to middle class families.
• Address the burdens of middle-class families. In my first months as Senator, I sponsored the Middle Class Opportunity Act, which would increase tax credits for child and dependent care, help families pay for higher education and help families provide for aging parents. The Middle Class Opportunity Act remains one of my highest priorities in the Senate, which is why I sponsored similar legislation this year, urging Congress to enact legislation to improve the lives of middle class families and provide them with greater opportunity to achieve the American dream by providing middle class tax relief.
• Rebuild our nation's infrastructure. The collapse of the 35W bridge was a tragic reminder that we have failed to invest in the roads, bridges and other public infrastructure that keeps our citizens safe and our economy strong. We need to invest in a comprehensive 21st century infrastructure network for our 21st century economy, including safe bridges, modern highways, forward-looking public transportation, and smart, integrated planning decisions. These investments will not only reduce carbon emissions but will also create good jobs for the long term.
• Assist families in caring for seniors. Almost 10 million seniors today need some type of long-term care. While nursing homes and paid care providers serve our elderly in some situations, the vast majority of elder care comes from informal care givers - more than half of whom are adult children taking care of their parents. On the Joint Economic Committee, I have taken the lead on this critical issue. I have introduced the Americans Giving Care to Elders Act, which would establish a federal tax credit to assist with the costs of caring for an aging family member and would help expand programs to provide education, guidance and support to people taking care of loved ones with long-term care needs. I've also introduced legislation that aims to increase consumer protection and understanding of long-term care insurance.