Washington, DC – House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced her selection of Congressman Jim Himes to serve as Chairman of the newly created Select Committee on Economic Disparity and Fairness in Growth.
The Select Committee has been tasked with finding potential policies to intervene in the nation’s growing economic disparities. The committee is formed in the spirit of the Temporary National Economic Committee, established by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Congress during the Great Depression in 1938 to address the concentration of power among businesses and monopolies.
“I'm honored and excited to lead the Select Committee on Economic Disparity and Fairness in Growth,” said Himes. “In the past fifty years, the economic gap between Americans has grown into a yawning chasm, and the pandemic has made this crisis painfully apparent to all. This growing disparity offends our moral sensibility, destabilizes our democracy, and thwarts our global competitiveness; it is time to act.”
“Sadly, my district in Southwest Connecticut reflects this issue: I represent some of the wealthiest and the poorest communities in the nation, all within a short drive of each other, and all filled with people who aspire to make a good living and provide for their families. Along with the diverse perspectives of those joining me on the committee, my experience serving Southwest Connecticut will inform our vital mission of examining how we arrived here, determining the depth of the problem and those affected, and setting a course in which everyone can benefit as our economy grows.”
The Committee’s Democratic members will include:
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Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur of Ohio
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Congresswoman Gwen Moore of Wisconsin
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Congressman Vicente Gonzalez of Texas
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Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal of Washington
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Congresswoman Angie Craig of Minnesota
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Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York
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Congresswoman Sara Jacobs of California
Please find attached the Speaker’s announcement of the Select Committee for additional information and video of the announcement here. For more information or with any questions, contact Elena Radding at Elena.Radding@mail.house.gov.
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All official press releases from Rep. Jim Himes (D-CT)