Empire State Today

Good morning. We want to make sure you saw this piece by House Republican Conference Chair Elise Stefanik in RealClearPolitics:

Numbers Don’t Lie: Women Thrived Under Trump, Suffered Under Harris

RealClearPolitics

By Elise Stefanik

August 19, 2024

"Of the countless lies about Kamala Harris perpetuated by Democrats and their loyal stenographers in the mainstream media, one of the most egregious is that a Kamala Harris presidency will deliver historic economic opportunity for working women," wrote Elise Stefanik. "Unfortunately for these desperate Democrats attempting to erase publicly available data, numbers tell the exact opposite story. Kamala Harris and Joe Biden saddled women with the largest pay cut, inflation crisis, tax hike, and economic crash so far this century, whereas President Trump delivered the greatest economic boost for American women of any modern day president."

According to Stefanik, "The median income for women increased every year during the Trump administration, reaching the highest on record in 2020. Real average weekly earnings increased 8.2% under President Trump yet decreased 3.9% under Joe Biden and Kamala Harris." She also noted that "the unemployment rate for women overall and for black women in particular reached a record low during President Trump’s term." In 2019, she added, "the workforce participation gap between men and women shrank to the narrowest in history" with Trump's economy making history with "the most women in the workforce ever."

Stefanik emphasized that these achievements were not accidental but rather a result of policies aimed at supporting working families. She cited Trump's doubling of the child tax credit from $1,000 to $2,000 per child and expanding eligibility as part of his pro-family agenda. "Nearly 40 million families received an average benefit of $2,200 under his leadership," she stated.

Trump's initiatives included creating a paid family leave tax credit for employees earning $72,000 or less and signing into law 12 weeks of paid parental leave for federal workers. He also signed significant increases in childcare development block grants to expand access to affordable childcare for over 800,000 low-income families.

"The oft-asked question about balancing work and family life is: Can women have it all? Under President Trump’s leadership," Stefanik argued that "the answer was a resounding yes."

In contrast, she criticized Biden and Harris' economic policies as detrimental particularly to women. According to her piece: "Women are bearing the brunt of Kamala Harris’ tie-breaking vote for Biden’s comically named 'Inflation Reduction Act,' which turbocharged inflation with a glut of ridiculous climate spending." She highlighted personal stories such as those from Nevada and Michigan where mothers faced difficult financial decisions due to rising costs.

Stefanik pointed out that according to Congress' Joint Economic Committee report: “Families now need an extra $12,590 annually just to maintain the same standard of living they enjoyed three years ago,” impacting parents' ability to afford education-related expenses.

She concluded by urging fellow female voters not to be deceived by what she termed as Democratic propaganda efforts: “But as much as Democrats may lie," she asserted that "numbers never do.”

Rep. Elise M. Stefanik represents New York’s 21st congressional district. She is the House Republican Conference chair and chair of Women for Trump.