I know that small
businesses are the lifeblood of our communities. When I was young, my
mother owned a bridal store, and together my parents owned and ran an
ice cream and sandwich shop. This was on top of their other jobs,
community work, and, of course, taking care of our family. I watched my
folks put the family savings and all their efforts on the line to make
a go of it during tough economic times. I also saw firsthand their
struggle with financing, paperwork and regulations, employee issues,
and the challenge of finding affordable health care.
While small businesses have created the most net new jobs in the U.S.
economy during the last decade, too many businesses have been forced to
close due to rising costs, increased regulations, and a tax system that
penalizes expanding enterprises. This isn't right and I've worked in
Congress to create a more small business friendly attitude. Supporting
small businesses should not be a partisan issue, it should be something
we all agree on and work together to achieve. |
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A Skilled Workforce
There is a growing demand for skilled workers in America. Career and
technical education programs address this need by focusing education
and job training skills in those areas with the greatest need. In fact,
according to the Bureau of Labor Standards' projections, 8 of out of
the top 10 occupations with the largest job growth through 2014 will
require an associate's degree or career and technical training. In
preparing for a well-educated and skilled workforce in America, career
and technical education is crucial in providing youth and adults with
the skills they need in a competitive global economy.
Career and Technical Education provides opportunities for students to
apply their learning in relevant, real world situations. It helps
students acquire the employability and leadership skills that will
enable them to succeed both in the workplace and in higher education.
In recognition of this, Congressman Baird founded the Congressional
Career and Technical Education Caucus. This Caucus works to increase
awareness of the importance of career and technical education in
Congress, supports funding and resources, and promotes legislation that
benefits career and technical education.
As a nation, we must also increase the quality of our math and science education.
Our students must be provided with well-trained math and science
teachers and state-of-the-art curriculums to keep pace with today's job
markets. As a chairman emeritus of the Research and Science Education
Subcommittee, and a member of the House Science Committee, Congressman
Baird believes we must improve the performance of our young people in
science, technology, and mathematical fields.
In 2007, Congressman Baird helped author the America COMPETES Act. This
landmark, bipartisan legislation makes substantial improvements to math
and science education, including establishing a program at the National
Science Foundation to create more qualified teachers in science and
math fields, and strengthened the nation's commitment to scientific
research. The America COMPETES Act, which was celebrated by educators
and businesses, was signed into law in August of 2007.
Finally, the United States is also facing a language gap that has the
potential to damage our global economic competitiveness. Economically,
we must be prepared to tap into emerging global markets like China and
India. While millions of Americans study foreign languages, the
overwhelming majority of class enrollment is in Spanish, French, or
German. Unfortunately, that enrollment balance does not reflect the
economic realities of the 21st century.
Congressman Baird believes we must ensure that our children and
grandchildren have the tools that they need to remain competitive in
the future global economy. The ability to speak the languages of
emerging economies will help U.S. businesses and protect American jobs.
Responding to this need, Congressman
Baird has introduced the National Foreign Language Coordination Act.
This legislation would establish a National Language Director and
create a National Foreign Language Coordination Council to develop and
oversee the implementation of an American foreign language strategy,
including strengthening foreign language education programs and
standards.
Congressman Baird has also introduced the Access to Language Education
Act. This legislation would create a federally-sponsored video
programming channel on the Internet focused on providing foreign
language instruction. Instruction would be provided for languages that
are not widely taught in educational institutions in the U.S., but that
are likely to have significant value for our country in global
competitiveness, trade, international relations, national security, and
defense.
Capital for Small Businesses
Access to affordable financing and capital is one of the chief
obstacles preventing small business growth. Congressman Baird is a
champion of the Business Retained Income During Growth and Expansion
(BRIDGE) Act. The BRIDGE Act allows fast-growing small and mid-sized
businesses to defer a portion of their federal income tax liability for
two years in order to invest the money in the growth of their
businesses. When implemented, this proposal may create over 900,000 new
jobs in three years. It will also generate new revenue for the federal
government when the deferred taxes are gradually paid back with
interest by the businesses.
As a former member of the Small Business Committee, Congressman Baird
also knows how important the 7(a) small business loan program is to our
nation's economy. One of the most important components to economic
recovery is to provide small businesses with an infusion of capital.
Unfortunately, many conventional forms of capital are often out of
reach for small business. As a result, the number one method for
financing a business is credit cards, which usually carry very high
interest rates. Filling this financing vacuum are the Small Business
Administration (SBA) loan programs. Through public-private
partnerships, small businesses are able to tap into capital that is
both affordable and accessible.
Paperwork Reduction
Small business owners are drowning in mountains of paperwork that
distract them from running their business and helping our economy grow.
They need relief from payroll and tax regulations that are difficult to
understand and monitor. To help ease the burden placed on our small
businesses, Congressman Baird voted for the Paperwork Relief Act, which
was signed into law, creating an interagency task force focused on
streamlining and consolidating small business paperwork requirements.
Now, small business owners have greater access to agency officials to
help them navigate through and reduce the amount of paperwork they must
complete, allowing them to focus on running their business.
Health Care
Many small businesses cite rising health care costs as one of their
most significant concerns. Congressman Baird believes we must
comprehensively reform the health care system in order to lower
skyrocketing costs and expand coverage to the nearly 47 million
Americans who are uninsured.
To achieve these goals, Congressman Baird introduced bipartisan legislation called the Healthy Americans Act.
The Healthy Americans Act is a comprehensive health care proposal. The
proposal maintains consumer choice and guarantees private health care
coverage that cannot be taken away and is at least as good as that
offered to Members of Congress and Senators.
The Healthy Americans Act guarantees private health insurance for all Americans by:
- Ensuring
that every American has a high-quality, private health care plan that
is comparable to what Members of Congress now enjoy.
- Establishing a sliding scale of health care premium assistance for low-income Americans.
- Creating a health care tax credit to help Americans cover the cost of their health care plan.
- Requiring every American to purchase a private health care plan.
The Healthy Americans Act eliminates the link between employment and health care by:
- Ending the employer health care tax deduction and replacing it with a personal tax credit.
- Requiring
employers who currently provide employee health benefits to convert
their health care premiums into higher wages that employees will use to
purchase their own private health insurance for the first four years.
- Requiring
employers to make payments to the federal government, on a sliding
scale depending on the number of employees, to fund premium subsidies.
Employers who do not currently provide health benefits will be required
to begin making phased-in payments immediately; after four years, all
employers will be making these payments.
The Healthy Americans Act protects consumers by:
- Prohibiting discrimination against beneficiaries based on health status or genetics.
- Allowing
plans to use financial incentives to reward beneficiaries who enroll in
wellness programs or otherwise pursue a healthy lifestyle.
- Establishing
a Health Help Agency in each state to coordinate payments from
employers, individuals and government; coordinate enrollment of
individuals in private health care plans; and provide consumers with
unbiased information about competing health care plans.
- Requiring insurers to use standardized common forms to make health care more transparent for consumers.
- Providing
additional research and education efforts on the comparative
effectiveness of health care items to ensure that consumers receive
effective, quality care.
- Allowing beneficiaries to purchase additional coverage above and beyond the federal standard if they choose.
- Maintaining
employer-based retiree health plan for individuals who are already
retired and Medicare, and preserving health plans negotiated as part of
a collective bargaining agreement for as long as nine years.
The Healthy Americans Act reallocates federal resources by:
- Phasing
out the Disproportionate Share Hospital payments program, which
provides compensation to hospitals treating the uninsured. Universal
coverage will obviate the need for this program.
- Phasing out the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) in favor of coverage under the Healthy Americans Act.
- Ending non-supplemental Medicaid and providing basic health care for low income Americans.
According to a comprehensive review and score by the nonpartisan Lewin
Group, the Healthy Americans Act will increase coverage and decrease
costs by:
- Providing health care coverage to 99% of Americans
- Phasing out the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) in favor of coverage under the Healthy Americans Act.
- Cutting
national spending on health care, both public and private, and creating
a long term savings of $1.48 trillion over the next ten years.
Some business owners have expressed support for Small Business Health
Plans, which allow businesses to join together to provide coverage to
their employees. By banding together to purchase insurance, businesses
and employers share the costs and reduce the individual financial
burden that can keep companies from offering coverage to workers.
While Congressman Baird initially had reservations about Small Business
Health Plans, he met repeatedly with local business leaders to learn
more about the obstacles they encounter and the benefits of
cost-sharing associated with these health plans. Although there is
certainly room for further improvements in the area of solvency and
viability of the insurers and protections for mental health and other
benefits, Congressman Baird believes that - in the end - it is far
better for employees and businesses to have insurance they can afford
and has voted in support of Small Business Health Plans.
Congressman Baird also recognizes that the problem of rising medical
liability insurance costs is complex. Many have come to believe that
the current situation is undermining our health care system,
demoralizing health care professionals, costing billions of dollars per
year, failing to substantially reduce medical errors, and still leaving
many patients with legitimate claims unsupported. Faced with these
concerns, Congressman Baird acknowledges that common sense, balanced
reform is both essential and imminent, and that reform should constrain
the cost of medical liability insurance and reduce unwarranted
litigation, protect the rights of patients who have been harmed to
received compensation, and improve the quality of health care in this
country.
Congressman Baird introduced the Comprehensive Medical Malpractice Reform Act. The legislation: :
- Regulates and reforms the medical malpractice insurance industry;
- Provides alternatives to litigation through the promotion of successful mediation practices;
- Improves the quality of health care in this country;
- Reduces frivolous lawsuits and sets reasonable limits on non-economic damages; and,
- Excludes medical devices and pharmaceuticals from the cap on non-economic damages.
Congressman Baird believes this approach is likely to improve patient
care, reduce medical errors, lower the costs of litigation, and still
provide avenues for patients who have been harmed to receive
compensation and support. He is strongly committed to a bipartisan and
practical approach to medical malpractice reform, taking into
consideration the views and concerns of all persons affected by the
outcome. He will continue to work with his colleagues in Congress and
with the Administration to achieve this common goal.
Streamlining the Environmental Permitting Process
Protecting the environment is always a priority, but regulatory
processing and permitting have become unnecessarily costly and time
consuming. In recent years, Congressman Baird has organized a series of
meetings throughout Southwest Washington to bring local business
leaders, farmers, builders, ports and others together with federal,
state and local officials to improve the permitting process. As a
direct result, several federal and state agencies have made significant
progress in streamlining permits, reducing application backlogs and
complexity, and improving coordination to expedite the process. There
is still work to be done, and much room for improvement and Congressman
Baird will continue to work with the consumers of permits and agency
representatives to push for further improvements in efficiency and
savings in time and money.
Estate Tax Reform
Congressman Baird believes that the estate tax needs to be reformed. He
has cosponsored legislation and voted to permanently reform the estate
tax by immediately exempting up to $10 million dollars in assets from
any tax at death. This reform will protect more than 99 percent of
family-owned businesses, forests, and farms from paying any estate
taxes. He believes this is a common sense compromise that would benefit
local, family-owned businesses and farms.
Congressman Baird will continue to advocate for legislation to reform
the estate tax and reduce the tax burden on family owned businesses and
farms. He has also supported measures that allow family-owned
businesses and farms to pass all their tangible business or farm assets
on to family members tax free, as long as the business or farm stays in
the family's hands. These fair and common sense changes will help
local, family businesses stay local and family-owned and keep our
communities stronger.
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