ICYMI: Rep. Haley Stevens Outlines Vision for American Prosperity, Industry, and Democracy.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — In case you missed it, Michigan Congresswoman Haley Stevens delivered a special order address on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives reflecting on the state of the American economy, the financial pressures facing working Michigan families, and the work ahead to strengthen American industry and democracy.

During the address, Stevens raised the alarm on rising household costs and the challenges facing workers and retirees, as well as the tasks Congress must undertake in the coming years to restore trust among the American people, restore our dominance on the global stage, and stand up for domestic manufacturing.

On the Affordability Crisis Facing Working Americans

• “Why in the heaven’s name do we have 65%, nearly, of Americans in this country living paycheck to paycheck? Why is it that from the recent high school graduate to even, let’s say, the high school student working a job to the single parent, to the hard working, middle class family that they are living paycheck to paycheck?
• “We must ask that, Mr. Speaker, not to just own around a political point or a political talking point, but around policy propositions. Because, you see, Mr. Speaker, in the last handful of years, in this quarter century mark of which America finds themselves in, I feel more compelled than ever to fight for my country, to fight for our freedoms, our way of life, the ability to start a small business without drowning in debt, the ability to live your life.
• “And when I look around, I’m not seeing anyone’s bills going down. I’m not seeing housing prices going down. I’m not seeing health care bills going down. I’m not seeing energy costs going down.”

On the Draconian Cuts Republicans Have Rammed Though at the Expense of the American People

• “Take a phone call to the Medicaid recipients of America, talk to those families. And their sobering experiences, cuts to the food benefits, the sobering conversations that I have with Michiganders whose eyes well up in tears because they worked all their life and never thought that they’d have to be nervous about what was going into their grocery cart. Embarrassment, shame. Food banks being pushed to a brink.
• “It is not hyperbole. It is not hysteria. It is just my lived experience as a congresswoman in Michigan’s 11th district that I have witnessed my constituents cry because they cannot afford food. Why is that happening? Why are SNAP benefits being cut?”

On the Rising Threat of Economic Insecurity in this Country

• “I call outrage, I frankly call, Mr. Speaker, unfairness, economic unfairness off the backs of hard working people who continue to work, who continue to meet the charge of America, who continue to do remarkable things in their communities.
• “And yet they are being suffocated because it’s not just 65% living paycheck to paycheck. Let’s talk about what that really means. It means that we’ve got $1.3 trillion of credit card debt. Mr. Speaker, $1.3 trillion of credit card debt.”

On Investing in American Manufacturing and Shoring Up Our Critical Supply Chains

• “We can’t wait another term to do nothing. We can’t wait another term to just see one big, crazy, life altering bill come through that I really can’t pinpoint lowered anyone’s bill. It just didn’t.
• “Mr. Speaker, I have this fantastic bill called Unearth America’s Future Act. It’s taking the most beautiful parts of the CHIPS and Science Act, which we did to lessen our nation’s dependence on critical parts components. The microchip that goes into all high end manufacturing manufactured goods, most notably, Mr. Speaker, our automobile.
• “Unearth America’s Future Act is a bill that creates loan guarantees, tax credits and monies for an R&D center of excellence, with an emphasis on synthesizing, processing and refining for the critical minerals that become our critical materials, 95% of which come from China.”

On the Power of the Vote and American Democracy

• “We have to remember, and maybe it’s a call upon those who profit off of the commentary and the exchange and the gossip and the drama… to really look at outside of assumption, what takes place when people vote. You know, that’s the whole shebang.
• “And yet we spend years leading up to votes, years of speculation, and yet there are still people, you know, just living their lives and going to the polls, and they’re counted as part of a vote. And I think that’s where we have to remember power lies in this country. Power lies in the vote. And those who engage in democracy.
• “As Truman once said, America is not built on fear. America is built on courage, imagination. Let us bring some imagination to restoring the strength of American democracy. Open free market, democratic, equal opportunity capitalism so that all can succeed.
• “America is not built on fear. America is built on courage, imagination, and the willingness to do the job at hand.”

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