ICYMI: Committee Democrats Hear from Experts about Impact of Trump’s Economy on American Workers

WASHINGTON -Today, Ranking Member Robert C. "Bobby" Scott (VA-03) hosted an event on the impact of the Trump economy on workers. As unemployment edges upward, job growth slows, and the cost of essentials like gas, groceries, and housing remains high, many families are feeling increased financial strain. During the event, Members heard from economic experts and questioned how the Administration's policy decisions are shaping wages, job opportunities, and household budgets.

The Members were joined by Algernon Austin of the Center for Economic and Policy Research, Kate Bahn of the Institute for Women's Policy Research, and Nell Geiser of the Communications Workers of America.

Watch Ranking Member Scott's remarks on YouTube .

Ranking Member Scott delivered the following remarks at the event:

"Good afternoon and thank everyone for being here today.

"Right now, workers and their families are frustrated by an economy that isn't working for them. Even if families do everything right, a comfortable, affordable life remains increasingly out of reach. Trump's tariffs, reckless economic policies, and a needless war of choice have driven up the prices of gas and groceries. Housing, child care, and health care are even further out of reach.

"After several years in which low-wage workers secured historically fast real wage growth, after several years the labor market has softened. According to the Economic Policy Institute, real wages declined 0.3 percent for low-wage workers in [2025]. Every paycheck is stretched a little thinner, and more and more Americans are forced to dip into their retirement savings or, according to The New York Times, even resort to selling their plasma to afford everyday expenses.

"But not everyone is feeling the pain. The Trump Administration's economic policies have put even more money into the pockets of the wealthy and big corporations while America's workforce counts pennies.

"U.S. workers are taking home a smaller and smaller share of the economic pie. Simultaneously, wealth at the very top-according to one study, in the past year alone, the 10 richest billionaires increased their fortunes by nearly $700 billion. That's 10 people, $700 billion.

"Republicans' 'Big, Ugly Bill' only deepened this divide by taking health care from working families to give tax breaks to these big corporations and billionaires. And how are these corporations rewarding workers, as they receive these windfalls of tax breaks? They are taking this opportunity to - quote - 'right-size their companies' - unquote - and then celebrate mass layoffs with their shareholders.

"Making matters even worse, job growth has slowed to a crawl since the Trump Administration returned to office. We have seen multiple months of job loss over the past year, and unemployment has crept upwards.

"Here are the slides behind me (see here and here).

"At this point in their respective terms, President Biden had created 8.5 million jobs in little over a year, with average monthly gains of 604,000, compared to 369,000 total jobs with average monthly gains of 26,000 during President Trump's second term. Without stable, well-paying jobs, families are stuck struggling to survive while the wealthy enjoy larger and larger profits.

"At the heart of the American dream is a fundamental promise: that if you work hard, you can earn enough money to build a decent life. But today's economy reflects the exact opposite - that the ones who need the least are the ones who get the most.

"But this fight is far from over. We have the tools to build a strong economy that rewards workers instead of billionaires. We can invest in good-paying jobs, strengthen workers' rights, raise the minimum wage, and lower costs so that the American dream can finally become a reality.

"So, I look forward to our conversation today. With that, I am pleased to hand it over to the panelists."

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