Olszewski: Congress Must Focus on Lowering Costs

(Washington, DC) — In his first speech on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives, Congressman Johnny Olszewski (MD-02) today announced his support for a legislative suite aimed at lowering and offsetting costs for Americans and called out Republican leadership for refusing to allow votes on policies to help struggling families more than one month into the session.

Congressman Olszewski introduced a tracker he will post on his social media pages everyday until the House votes on a bill to lower costs. 

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You can see his speech in its entirety here.

“The American people elected all of us with one clear mandate: to lower costs,” Congressman Olszewski said. “We are now 32 days into this session of Congress. Sadly, we have not held a single vote – not even a committee hearing – on legislation to lower costs for our constituents who are struggling at the grocery store and the gas station.

While we waste time on partisan bills that do nothing to lower costs, Americans continue to struggle.”

Congressman Olszewski announced his cosponsorship of several bills to address the rising costs for families including:

• The American Family Act, which provides for a new, fully-refundable child tax credit and monthly advance payments of credit amounts;
• The Earned Income Tax Credit Modernization Act, which would extend the EITC to taxpayers with certain dependents, including children and aged dependents, and to qualifying students. It also establishes a matching grant program for tax return preparation assistance for low-income taxpayers;
• The Caring for All Families Act, which would expand eligibility for paid family and medical leave and provide additional leave for parents and family caregivers. The bill also grants leave for employees to care for a domestic partner with serious health conditions;
• The Expanding Penalty Free Withdrawal Act, which would help unemployed Americans tap into their retirement accounts to stay afloat;
• The Young Americans Financial Literacy Act, which would provide grants for financial literacy education programs to help Americans make better-informed financial decisions.

“These are all bills that should be bipartisan — and they should be our focus,” Congressman Olszewski said. “So let’s roll up our sleeves and let’s get to work.”

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