Overhead view of Sacramento

Rep. Doris Matsui Calls for Second Stimulus Package

October 4, 2017
Press Release

Rep. Doris Matsui Calls For Second Stimulus Package

Joins Colleagues in Calling for Additional Help for Working Families

Today, Rep. Doris Matsui (CA-05) joined over 25 of her colleagues in sending a letter to Speaker Nancy Pelosi calling for a second, broader economic stimulus initiative. In addition to calling for short-term initiatives to stimulate the economy like extending unemployment benefits, increased infrastructure investment and increased food stamp payments, this letter focuses on creating a strategy for creating well-paying jobs and preparing a workforce in transition.

andquot;Hard-working Sacramentans are feeling the pain of the ever-weakening economy. The action we took earlier this year was a good first step in addressing the financial challenges families are facing. However, we must go further,andquot; said Rep. Matsui.

andquot;We must take definitive action now to strengthen our economy now and in the future. Investing in infrastructure projects has historically been one of the most sure-fire ways to stimulate our economy and create new jobs,andquot; said Rep. Matsui.

In the letter, Rep. Matsui and 28 other Members call for:

  • increased investment in schools, roads, water and sewer projects, and other public infrastructure projects that are ready to go will put people to work and build or repair needed capiandshy;tal assets while pumping up the economy
  • an extension of unemployment insurance benefits to 20 weeks, to be followed by 13 additional weeks for high unemployment states like California
  • increased food stamp benefits for the families most in need
  • an increase in the Federal Medical Assistance Percentage by 2.95 percent, which would provide a direct economic boost to struggling states and ensure that our most vulnerable citizens continue to receive critical health care coverage
  • amending the tax code to allow the federal government to pay for 50 percent of catastrophic healthcare costs above a certain threshold for all workers with company-provided coverage and employed by manufacturers that operate in the United States
  • authorize the government refinancing of some troubled mortgages with a program similar to the Homeowners' Loan Corporation, which was so successful during the Great Depression
  • strengthening and enhancing the Technology Innovation Program (TIP), the American Competitiveness Initiative (ACI), and the Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP)
  • increasing in the amount and extending of the current consumer tax credit for the purchase of advanced technology vehicles

The other Members who've joined the Congresswoman include:


Edolphus Towns (NY)

Carol Shea-Porter (NH)

David Loebsack (IA)

Frank Pallone (NJ)

Henry Waxman (CA)

Artur Davis (AL)

John Dingell (MI)

Mike Doyle (PA)

Bob Filner (CA)

Bart Stupak (MI)

Gwen Moore (WI)

Nick Rahall (WV)

Tammy Baldwin (WI)

Donald Payne (NJ)

Hank Johnson (GA)

John Lewis (GA)

Sander Levin (MI)

Phil Hare (IL)

Sanford Bishop (GA)

Mazie Hirono (HI)

Joe Courtney (CT)

Jan Schakowsky (IL)

Betty McCollum (MN)

John Hall (NY)

Rick Boucher (VA)

Stephanie Tubbs Jones (OH)

Carolyn Maloney (NY)

Lynn Woolsey (CA)

andquot;Americans cannot wait until next year for economic relief. Too many families are haunted by unaffordable prices of gas and everyday goods. It is for them that we must return our focus to our domestic priorities and invest in a better America for the future,andquot; said Rep. Matsui.

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