Rosen Meets with Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell to Discuss Nevada’s Economic Outlook, Urgent Need to Avoid Debt Ceiling Crisis

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Jacky Rosen (D-NV) met with Chairman of the Federal Reserve Jerome Powell in her office. During their meeting, Senator Rosen and Chairman Powell discussed strategies to address Nevada’s unemployment challenges, limit inflation, and revive our economy, as well as the potential consequences of not raising the debt ceiling this month and the urgent need to avoid a default.

“With states like Nevada that rely on travel and tourism still confronting higher than average unemployment rates, we know we need strong federal action to continue our economic recovery,” said Senator Rosen. “Chairman Powell and I had an opportunity today to discuss the unique challenges facing our state’s economy and our key industries as we use every tool available to get more Nevadans back to work. We also discussed the looming but avoidable crisis our country will face if Congress fails to raise the debt limit, and the potential longterm impacts this would have on our economy.”

BACKGROUND: Rosen is Chair of the Senate Commerce Committee’s Subcommittee on Tourism, Trade, and Export Promotion. In August, she voted to pass the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. As part of the bipartisan group that drafted the Senate-passed landmark legislation, Rosen played a leading role in writing the section on airports and ensuring support for travel and tourism. The bipartisan bill includes $25 billion in overall investment for airport infrastructure and also includes the text of Senator Rosen’s bipartisan Travel Optimization by Updating and Revitalizing Infrastructure to Support Mobilization (TOURISM) Act, which requires the Department of Transportation to update its National Travel and Tourism Infrastructure Strategic Plan to develop an immediate-term and long-term strategy for using infrastructure investments to revive the travel and tourism economy in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In March, Senator Rosen voted to pass the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, which included unemployment relief and stimulus checks; billions of dollars to support small businesses, restaurants, and emergency rental assistance; and $750 million for states and communities impacted by job losses in the travel, tourism, and outdoor recreation industries.

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