Rep. Rouda Wants to Hit Ground Running on Wage Growth, Climate Change After Flipping GOP Seat
*By Justin Chermol and Carlo Versano*
Rep. Harley Rouda, the newly elected Democrat from California's 48th district, doesn't want to waste any time getting legislation to the floor that will stimulate wage growth, which showed better-than-expected strength in Friday's blowout jobs report but remains a concern for economists.
The freshman congressman, who flipped the seat held by 15-term GOP Rep. Dana Rohrabacher in the Republican bastion of Orange County, Calif., is concerned with the lack of income growth among American workers. Rouda intends to sponsor the Small Business Innovation Act, which will amend small business laws and allow federal agencies to dedicate money for research and grants to develop new products and technology. The [bill](https://twitter.com/RepHarley/status/1080967950385983488) is still in its inception, but Rouda said the goal is to help drive job growth.
"Everybody on both sides of the aisle supports small business's growth and development," he said.
Although Rouda is coming into Congress ready to work, the United States remains in the midst of a partial government shutdown, the fourth longest in U.S. history.
"It's unfortunate for the American public that we even have the Trump shutdown," said Rouda. He went on to echo a line repeated by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.): "His failure to do what our public wants, what our citizens deserve, is simply a temper-tantrum of the president."
The former Republican-turned-Democrat comes from a district that was swept from wildfires last year and represents nearly 80 percent of Orange County's expansive Pacific coastline. He said he intends to stake out ground on climate change initiatives, which will be a priority for Democrats in the House.
"This isn't an issue that just affects my district," he said. "It affects the entire world."
While other members of the Democratic freshman class have been dubbed the face of the new Congress, Rouda's traditional conservative looks aren't likely to attract the same attention. But Rouda expressed enthusiasm about the diversity on display Thursday as new Democratic representatives were sworn into office.
"That's exactly what our country needs is diversity in the House of the people to represent the people across our country," Rouda said. "It was a stark distinction between the two sides of that House yesterday and I'm very proud how the Democratic Party has embraced diversity at all levels, especially in the House of the people."
But Rouda differs from some of his progressive colleagues who are already calling for Trump's ouster, including fellow freshman, Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), who made waves by saying on the night of her swearing-in: "We’re gonna go in there and we’re gonna impeach the motherf**ker."
Another California Democrat, Rep. Brad Sherman, has already [introduced articles of impeachment](https://www.latimes.com/politics/la-na-pol-congress-impeachment-20190103-story.html). Asked by Cheddar's Megan Pratz whether impeachment talk was distracting from the shutdown, Sherman said no, and that "impeachment is on the table."
Rouda, however, demurred on whether he would call for Trump's impeachment, saying he wanted to give the Mueller investigation time to wrap up.
"We need continue to let him have that process," Rouda said. "And take appropriate action if the conclusion suggests we have to."
A new analysis reveals that for more than two decades, the West has been the driest it has ever been since 800 A.D. The drought which began in 2000 has brought more devastating wildfires and draining water reserves well below healthy levels. Climate Scientists and Adjunct Associate Research Scientist at Lamont Doherty Earth Observatory at Columbia University,Benjamin Cook, joined Cheddar to discuss more.
Inflation remains hot as the January PPI has increased by 1 percent, twice what analysts had been expecting with a jump of 9.7 over the year. Beth Ann Bovino, the U.S. chief economist, for S&P Global Ratings, joined Cheddar News to discuss the rapid pace of inflation alongside higher wages, predicting the Federal Reserve will act quickly and forcefully this year. "They haven't changed their forecast, yet, that's gonna come out soon. But we expect that a March rate hike is basically pretty much baked in the cake," she said. "We think six rate hikes in total for 2022."
For black history month, Cheddar is highlighting black business leaders who are driving the need for representation forward. On February 10, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce hosted an event called 'Developing the Black-Owned Business Ecosystem.' The virtual event was organized under the lobbying group's two initiatives -- the Equality of Opportunity Initiative, and the Coalition to Back Black Businesses. The event highlighted the developments needed to develop more black-owned businesses in the U.S. Dr. Anthony Wilbon, Dean of the School of Business at Howard University, joined Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss his experience as a speaker at the event.
A newly declassified letter by senators Ron Wyden and Martin Heinrich claimed the CIA. has been conducting a Secret Surveillance Program which has been collecting a bulk of data from American citizens. The letter which was written in April of 2021 urges the CIA to come clean about the kind of data it collects and how many Americans have been impacted. According to these two senators, the program did not have the safeguards of congressional oversight.
Art Hogan, Chief Market Strategist at National Securities, joined Cheddar News' Closing Bell, where he says investors are taking a wait-and-see approach when it comes to the situation between Russia and the Ukraine and elaborates on the impact higher oil prices stemming from the conflict would have on the market.
Last week, Senators Ron Wyden of Oregon and Martin Heinrich of New Mexico, Democrats on the Senate Intelligence Committee, wrote a a letter airing concerns that the CIA is collecting the data of American citizens without their consent. The lawmakers fear that the program might be exploiting private data. Morgan Wright, the chief security advisor at cybersecurity firm SentinelOne, joined Cheddar News to discuss the ramifications of the letter. "We don't have all the dots in one place to connect them," said Wright, cautioning against jumping to conclusions.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that diplomacy is still possible, while U.S. officials warn that an attack on Ukraine is imminent. Cheddar News speaks with James Astill, Washington bureau chief of The Economist on the latest developments in Eastern Europe.
As the number of Russian troops rose to 130,000 along its Ukrainian border, hopes for a diplomatic solution remain among world leaders. Jason McMann, head of geopolitical risk analysis at Morning Consult, joined Cheddar News to break down the fluid situation. "We saw signs pointing towards an increase in tensions between Ukraine and Russia, whereas today we're seeing some signs that the Russian government may be willing to continue down a path of diplomatic negotiations to try and find some sort of non-military solution," he said.
