Jobs and Economic Growth
 
The economy of the Hudson Valley is driven by its small businesses, farmers, and top notch labor force.  We need to make sure that all of those institutions have a fair playing field so that they can thrive and allow the region to prosper for generations to come.
 
Tax Fairness
For too long America’s tax code seems to have been turned upside down, giving the biggest breaks to those who need them the least and not doing enough to help working families and small businesses.  To get the tax code back on the side of the Hudson Valley’s working families, we must make the federal government keep its promise to fund education and public works programs instead of passing the burden along to local property taxes.
 
We also need to take swift action to prevent middle class families in the Hudson Valley from being unintentionally burdened by the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT).  Instead of impacting a small number of the wealthiest taxpayers as originally intended, the AMT has increasingly placed an onerous tax burden on a growing number of middle class families.  The families of the 19th District have been among the hardest hit by this change, and the district is one of the 20 most impacted by the AMT in the entire country.  I have written to the House Ways and Means Committee to express the dire need to reform the AMT and am committed to advancing legislation that would achieve this goal.
 
Economic Development
In Congress, I am committed to making sure that the federal government helps to ensure a level playing field for Hudson Valley businesses, and to working with local business leaders to develop innovative strategies to recruit businesses to the region and to leverage the Hudson Valley’s natural strengths to make local businesses more competitive on a global scale.
 
Labor
The Hudson Valley’s well trained, highly qualified labor force is a foundation of its economy and a key to its potential for growth.  We must make sure that our labor force receives a living wage, has the ability to rely on pension funds for retirement, and is guaranteed real protections in the workplace.  In my first weeks in Congress, I was proud to cosponsor and vote for H.R. 2, the Fair Minimum Wage Act, which would give America’s working families a long-overdue raise by increasing the minimum wage for the first time in almost a decade, from $5.15 to $7.25 an hour.  I am also a cosponsor of H.R. 800, the Employee Free Choice Act, which would protect the rights of workers to choose to organize.
 
Small Business
The Hudson Valley’s small businesses are a fundamental economic force in the region, and it is vital that they have a fair playing field that will allow them to survive and thrive in competition with large businesses and international companies.  We can achieve this goal by making sure that unnecessary burdens on small business are eliminated and programs available through the Small Business Administration have adequate resources and are responsive to local needs.  To help reduce the burdens on small businesses, I cosponsored and voted in favor of H.R. 976, the Small Business Tax Relief Act, which would provide a number of tax breaks to local small businesses, including enhancement of the work opportunity tax credit, small business expensing credit, tip credit, and ability to claim the work opportunity tax credit against AMT liability.
 
Fiscal Responsibility
Over the course of the past 7 years citizens of the Hudson Valley have been forced to watch while the federal government has squandered budget surpluses and run unprecedented deficits.  The result has been an increased burden on property taxes as a result of unfunded mandates, and the failure of the federal government to meet its obligations.  To help restore fiscal responsibility to Washington, I voted to help reinstate the “PAYGO” rules that require the government to stick within budget limits and avoid spending money it doesn’t have.