The U.S. economy added an anemic 266,000 jobs in April and the unemployment rate rose to 6.1 percent, a far cry from Dow Jones estimates which predicted 1 million new jobs and an unemployment rate of 5.8 percent.
The U.S. Chamber of Congress, the world’s largest pro-business trade association, issued a press release blaming the anemic jobs numbers on President Biden’s supplemental $300-per-week unemployment payments, saying:
“One step policymakers should take now is ending the $300 weekly supplemental unemployment benefit. Based on the Chamber’s analysis, the $300 benefit results in approximately one in four recipients taking home more in unemployment than they earned working.”
Of course, the Chamber is correct – paying people not to work is a massive disincentive for Americans to return to work. At the current federal unemployment supplement level of $300, 37 percent of workers make more on unemployment than at work.
The unfortunate part for the U.S. Chamber is that every single House Democrat the trade association endorsed in the 2020 election cycle voted to extend the 300-per-week “Biden Bucks.”
The $1.9 trillion “American Rescue Plan Act of 2021” passed the House on a narrow 219-212 vote in February. Of the 23 House Democrats endorsed by the U.S. Chamber during the 2020 election cycle, 15 won re-election. All 15 of these Democrats voted to pass the American Rescue Plan which extended the Biden Bucks program through Labor Day.
The U.S. Chamber’s endorsement of 23 House Democrats was a notable increase compared to prior years. During the 2018 cycle, the Chamber reportedly endorsed only 7 House Democrats. According to the U.S. Chamber’s own assessment of its impact on the 2020 House elections, the “U.S. Chamber endorsements are known to have a big impact and that rang true in 2020.”
Below are the House Democrats endorsed by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce who voted in favor of the American Rescue Plan and the percentage of the vote they received as candidates during the 2020 election.
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Rep. Colin Allred (TX-32), won re-election with 51.9% of the vote.
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Rep. Lizzie Fletcher (TX-7), won re-election with 50.8% of the vote.
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Rep. Haley Stevens (MI-11), won re-election with 50.2% of the vote.
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Rep. Josh Harder (CA-10), won re-election with 55.2% of the vote.
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Rep. Cindy Axne (IA-3), won re-election with 49.7% of the vote.
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Rep. Susie Lee (NV-3), won re-election with 48.8% of the vote.
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Rep. Angie Craig (MN-2), won re-election with 48.2% of the vote.
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Rep. Andy Kim (NJ-03), won re-election with 53.2% of the vote.
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Rep. Abigail Spanberger (VA-7), won re-election with 50.9% of the vote.
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Rep. Sharice David (KS-03), won re-election with 53.6% of the vote.
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Rep. Antonio Delgado (NY-19), won re-election with 54.2% of the vote.
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Rep. Elaine Luria (VA-2), won re-election with 51.5% of the vote.
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Rep. Dean Phillips (MN-3), won re-election with 55.6% of the vote.
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Rep. Greg Stanton (AZ-9), won re-election with 61.6% of the vote.
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Rep. David Trone (MD-6), won re-election with 58.9% of the vote.