- Title: U.S. Commerce chief Raimondo urges support for spending on 'care economy'
- Date: 12th July 2021
- Summary: WASHINGTON, D.C., UNITED STATES (JULY 12, 2021) (REUTERS) PAN DOWN FROM AMERICAN FLAG TO ENTRANCE AT COMMERCE DEPT BUILDING CLOSE UP OF ENTRANCE ZOOM OUT ON DOOR AT ENTRANCE (SOUNDBITE) (English) U.S. COMMERCE SECRETARY GINA RAIMONDO SAYING ABOUT THE GROWING REALIZATION DURING COVID THAT MORE NEEDS TO BE SPENT ON CHILD CARE AND OTHER 'CARE ECONOMY' WORKERS IN ORDER TO ALLOW WORKERS, ESPECIALLY WOMEN, TO RE-ENTER THE WORKFORCE NOW THAT THE ECONOMY IS OPENING UP FOLLOWING THE PANDEMIC SHUTDOWNS: "Millions of women dropped out of the workforce during Covid because schools were closed, child care centers were closed, assisted living facilities were curtailed. And so they had to leave their job to stay home, to take care of their children, their elderly moms and dads and disabled loved ones. And that is unsustainable for an economy. Ask any business person in America what his or her biggest challenges right now, its workforce. So we can't afford for half of our workforce, women, to be held back and held out of the workforce because they can't get excellent, inadequate child care or elder care. So I think people realized it more than ever during covid. Still a million and a half women are not back in the workforce. And so it's in everyone's interest and it's in the economy's interest for women to be able to fully participate in the labor force, to be reliable and productive employees. And in order for that to happen, they need care for their loved ones." PAN ACROSS EXTERIOR OF THE COMMERCE DEPT BUILDING WITH AMERICAN FLAG CLOSE OF AMERICAN FLAG (SOUNDBITE) (English) U.S. COMMERCE SECRETARY GINA RAIMONDO ANSWERING QUESTION WHAT HAPPENS TO THE U.S. ECONOMY IF INCREASED SPENDING ON THE 'CARE ECONOMY' DOESN'T HAPPEN, SAYING: "I think it's a real drag on the economy. I know it's a real drag on the economy. When I talk to CEOs, I was just in Seattle a week ago talking to a roundtable of CEOs, several of them mentioned to me that they had offered promotions to women who were some of their best employees. And the women said, 'no, I can't because I'm still struggling to find, you know, child care or elder care'. That's very bad for the economy. So I think that, you know, it's important. By the way, there are millions of women, mostly women of color, working in the care economy who are woefully underpaid. Just giving those women a raise would be a huge boost to our economy. So I think it's undeniably good for the economy and a huge drag on the economy if we don't get it done." VARIOUS OF DOOR AT THE BUILDING (2 SHOTS) (SOUNDBITE) (English) U.S. COMMERCE SECRETARY GINA RAIMONDO SAYING: "I'm a woman who has a career which provides for my family, but in order to be able to do my job every day, I have a child care in my home and we have a care team for my mom, who just turned 90, who needs twenty four hour care. And thank God for those women. They're all women. They're all women of color. They're amazing. And I'm living proof that that's a necessary part of what we need in our care infrastructure." PAN UP FROM EXTERIOR OF BUILDING TO THE AMERICAN FLAG CLOSE OF FLAG
- Embargoed: 26th July 2021 19:50
- Keywords: COVID President Joe Biden U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo child care disabled economic growth elder care human infrastructure funding pandemic women in the workforce
- Location: WASHINGTON, D.C., UNITED STATES
- City: WASHINGTON, D.C., UNITED STATES
- Country: USA
- Topics: Government/Politics,United States
- Reuters ID: LVA001ELJDQ2V
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text:U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo is urging U.S. business groups to back President Joe Biden's plans to boost spending for child care and better care for the elderly and disabled.
Raimondo said on Monday (July 12) that increased spending on the so-called 'care economy' will boost U.S. economic growth and bring more women back into the workforce after a major exodus during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Raimondo spelled out the benefits of funding "human infrastructure" in an interview with Reuters, saying that withholding the spending would be "a real drag on the economy."
The commerce secretary spoke with Reuters as the U.S. Senate returned on Monday to one of its most ambitious agendas in years: Biden's massive infrastructure spending plan which includes a partisan "human infrastructure" bill in the fall to invest in home healthcare for the elderly and others, as well as in education and paid medical leave.
(Production: Greg Savoy, Mana Rabiee) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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