Jobs and the Economy
David’s first priority has always been to create good jobs for Rhode Islanders in search of employment, and new opportunities for families trying their hardest to make ends meet. To help get our economy moving again, David has focused on four key areas that present the greatest opportunities for job growth - reinvigorating our manufacturing sector, preparing our workforce for the jobs of the 21st century, supporting small businesses, start-ups, and entrepreneurs, and creating additional consumer demand by strengthening the middle class.
David’s first priority has always been to create good jobs for Rhode Islanders in search of employment, and new opportunities for families trying their hardest to make ends meet. To help get our economy moving again, David has focused on four key areas that present the greatest opportunities for job growth - reinvigorating our manufacturing sector, preparing our workforce for the jobs of the 21st century, supporting small businesses, start-ups, and entrepreneurs, and creating additional consumer demand by strengthening the middle class.
David believes we need to renew our commitment to making things in America again. We need to ensure that Rhode Island can take advantage of new manufacturing opportunities and market conditions. That's why David introduced the Make It in America Block Grant Program Act. This legislation would provide grants to small- to medium-sized manufacturers hardest hit by the Great Recession to help them retool, retrofit their facilities, and train employees so they can maintain their current workforce, create new jobs, and better compete in the 21st century economy.
In addition, we need to provide Rhode Island manufacturers with a fighting chance to compete successfully in the global economy by leveling the playing field in tax and trade policies. David has introduced the Offshoring Prevention Act – a bill that will end tax policies that encourage companies to ship jobs overseas. David was an early sponsor of the Currency Reform for Fair Trade Act, which would end the practice of our trading partners, particularly the Chinese, of devaluing their currency to lower the costs of goods and gain an unfair trade advantage.
We also need to ensure our young people have the highest quality education to compete successfully in the new economy and that we are providing more Americans with the skills and training they need to access jobs in high growth industries. Yet, despite the fact that we have millions of Americans out of work, some members of Congress continue to put forth policies that would only make this situation worse, such as proposals to cut more than $2 billion from Workforce Investment Act programs, funds used to retrain displaced workers. Instead, we should be working to enact comprehensive workforce development legislation that meets the needs of employers and builds a pipeline of skilled workers who are ready to successfully compete.
David’s third area of focus has been helping small businesses, start-ups, innovators, and entrepreneurs. The more than 93,000 small businesses across Rhode Island represent nearly 96 percent of all employers and employ more than 55 percent of the private-sector workforce. One of the first bills David co-sponsored in 2011, which was later signed into law, was legislation repealing the new and onerous 1099 reporting requirements for small businesses.