Houston, Texas (KTRK) – US Secretary of Labor Marty Walsh visited Houston for the first time, and in an interview you’ll see only in 13 years, we asked him about a variety of topics from energy and the recession to childcare.
Experts fear the devastating effects amid talk of halting oil production
During his State of the Union address this month, President Joe Biden spoke about oil and gas — an industry for which he seemed to have a timeline.
“We’re going to need oil for at least another decade,” Biden said.
Biden’s statement caught the attention of the University of Houston’s vice president of energy and innovation, Ramanan Krishnamurti.
Krishnamurti explained that “those signals to the industry that this is an industry in trouble, that it has only a short cycle ahead of it, has alienated some of the best people.”
Experts said that if people avoid the industry, and companies stop investing, it could lead to less reliable energy and higher gas prices.
“It will have a chilling effect on the industry,” Krishnamurti said. “It would have enormous negative consequences for society as a whole.”
One agency that plays a role in energy jobs is the Department of Labor. On Tuesday, Walsh, the agency’s president, was in Houston. Eyewitness News asked Walsh what concerns energy experts have raised.
“You can’t get caught up in what the president says in his speech,” Walsh explained. “It’s really about laying a foundation for the future. It’s not about tomorrow.”
Walsh says we’re in a transitional period. While still dependent on oil and gas, he says the president is focused on alternative energy sources.
“We want to be less dependent on oil and gas, but we also want to make sure that the people who work in those industries can move into industries where they can reap the same if not better,” Walsh explained.
The Labor boss says inflation, not recession, is the main concern for American workers
The January jobs report showed that employers added more than half a million jobs. We asked Walsh if this would continue.
“We’re not going to see 500,000 jobs every month because there aren’t enough people to fill those jobs, but I’m not worried about a recession,” Walsh said. “You asked me about it six months ago. I’m not worried about it today.”
Walsh isn’t afraid of a recession, but there is something else he said is affecting workers.
“I think our biggest challenge right now is to continue to reduce inflationary pressures on people,” Walsh said.
Last Consumer price index report Commodity prices showed a slowdown, but everything is still 6.4% higher than this time last year.
Solutions are urgently needed to address the rising costs of childcare
Walsh said the pandemic has forced many women out of the workplace because schools have closed. He added that public-private partnerships should work to address this issue.
“Pointing fingers and blaming other parts of government is not the way to go now because it’s really about the future of our economies in a city, in a state, in a country,” Walsh explained.
One way is A grant of $75 million The state started recently. It aims to attract more child care centers. Providers can apply and get money for them to buy supplies to open businesses.
“Whether in expanding the childcare they have, the childcare business they currently have or working with local partners to facilitate the creation of new childcare centers conveniently located in places where people are not,” explained Juliet Stepchy, Executive Director of Workforce Solutions. .
It is a problem that affects all Texans. American room Stady It showed the state losing $1.8 billion in revenue due to child care, money that could go to projects like roads and bridges.
“This is not just an approach of the federal government,” Walsh said. “We have to reimagine government and the private sector what childcare is.”
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