Thoughts on Addressing Economic Disparity

Floor Speech

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Mrs. CAMMACK. Madam Speaker, I thank Chairman Himes and Ranking Member Steil.

Madam Speaker, I rise today as a member of the Select Committee on Economic Disparity and Fairness in and Growth, aka, the Committee on the Economy.

Over the past few minutes, we have heard a variety of arguments, and there is absolutely no doubt that every Member here today has a vested interest in ensuring our Nation remains prosperous for generations to come.

While we may disagree on solutions, we will work together to address economic challenges that we see across this country. Economic prosperity for all Americans is imperative and we know that prior to COVID-19, Americans saw tremendous progress.

In 2019 alone, the median household income grew 6.8 percent, the largest increase ever recorded in American history. With historic legislation passed by the House of Representatives and the Trump administration, we saw minority and historically underserved communities grow at historic rates, with income levels rising 7 percent for Hispanics and African Americans.

Following the pandemic, however, we have seen labor force participation plummet, as the policies proposed by our colleagues across the aisle have incentivized unemployment that we have not seen since the Carter administration which, for the record, was more than a decade before my time.

Now, as we begin to prepare to explore what we can do to empower workers for the jobs of the future and encourage all American families to succeed nationwide, I am particularly focused on communities like mine in north Central Florida, which lack broadband in both rural and urban areas, suffering from a lack of investment, which in turn affects our schoolchildren, telehealth opportunities, commerce, and so much more.

Now, in an agriculture-heavy district like mine, I also want to highlight the high trade deficit, the need for improved trade agreements, which help Florida producers in my home State who have consistently been devastated by lower prices from Mexico.

During the pandemic, farmers had to destroy crops and dump milk because the demand was so low, while cheaper produce from other nations continued to be imported cutting out the market from our producers. Simply put, the economics of U.S. production in agriculture are in peril.

Finally, I would like to bring attention to issues that are hot in the headlines these days: educational freedom, school choice, and the rights of parents to have a say in their children's education. We all know education is a direct correlation to prosperity. We know that America was built on equal opportunity, not equal outcome.

Rather than asking what more government should do, we should ask where government can be removed and should be removed. Federal regulations cost $1.9 trillion, spent on reporting, compliance, and more, which could be better served in investing in employees or in workforce development or in underdeveloped communities across the country.

As we begin our work on this select committee, I am committed to working with my colleagues to pursue meaningful opportunities for all Americans, regardless of their location, regardless of their background, regardless of their education, and regardless of whatever box they check.

It is well past time that we stop seeing the government as the solution to our problems because, after all, it is the incredible opportunities here today in America that have allowed me, the daughter of a single mom, a young woman from rural America, who has gone from homeless to the House of Representatives in under a decade. It is time that we expand those opportunities--not restrict them.

I thank Chairman Himes, again, as well as Ranking Member Steil for their leadership. I am honored to serve on this select committee.

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