From day one in Congress, David’s energy and focus have centered on ensuring more Rhode Islanders have access to good-paying jobs. Cicilline is working hard every day to create, expand, and sustain economic opportunities for all Rhode Islanders.

David knows there is so much more Congress can do to grow and support job creation here at home, and raise family incomes. David continues to be a tireless champion of American manufacturing, fighting to ensure the local companies, men, and women in this vital industry have the tools they need to succeed, and are on an even playing field with foreign competitors.

• David authored legislation, signed into law in 2018, to provide Rhode Island manufacturers with the ability to compete for new federal funding to grow jobs and strengthen our economy.
• David wrote legislation, signed into law, that provides greater transparency to government defense procurement – making it easier for American manufacturers to compete for overseas contracts.
• As an active member of the House Manufacturing Caucus, David is reaching across the aisle, championing bipartisan efforts to boost American manufacturing. He drafted legislation, signed into law in 2018, that permanently authorizes the Defense Manufacturing Communities Program – a proposal that would help states like Rhode Island be better positioned to leverage federal funding to support the advanced manufacturing sector, helping create good-paying jobs right here at home.
• In 2021, the House passed David’s legislation creating a Southern New England Regional Commission, which would help bring federal funding to Rhode Island to promote economic growth, job training, and infrastructure development in collaboration with our neighboring states of Massachusetts and Connecticut.
• David’s 21st Century Buy American Act would close loopholes that allow federal agencies to sidestep their obligation to prioritize American companies when purchasing goods or services and would enhance resources for American companies to manufacture products that are in short supply domestically.
• David also introduced the bipartisan Made in America Manufacturing Communities Act, which would create a new program at the Department of Commerce to provide public-private partnerships with financial and technical assistance designed to expand and support domestic manufacturing.

David also knows that Rhode Island businesses, large and small, need reliable infrastructure – roads, bridges, ports, and telecommunication systems that allow goods, services, and ideas to move through our economy. Critically important investments in our infrastructure not only help strengthen the broader economy, they also create and support good-paying jobs for Rhode Island workers. That’s why, David helped pass the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which provides more than $550 billion in new spending for infrastructure priorities over five years, including $2.5 billion going to fix roads and bridges, replace lead pipes, improve public transportation, increase broadband access, and create jobs in Rhode Island.

Underlying all these efforts to create and sustain good-paying jobs is David’s work to grow the middle class and expand economic opportunity for all Rhode Island families.  He is a strong supporter of legislation to increase the federal minimum and has fought to make certain our tax policies do not disadvantage middle class workers and their families.