Issues
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Economy: With high unemployment and the rising cost of health care, food and energy, working American families are finding it harder and harder to make ends meet. As your Representative in Congress, I will continue to support initiatives that create jobs, stimulate our economy and provide assistance to those struggling to find jobs. Creating Jobs and Stimulating the National Economy Today, the unemployment remains at near 9 percent. For years, Americans have suffered through layoffs overseas as companies have scaled back, closed their doors or moved jobs overseas. The American people have made it very clear: our nation’s top priority needs to be job creation. They want to get back to work and there is simply no better way to reduce our deficit and grow our economy than by creating jobs and strengthening the middle class. The American Jobs Act In these tough economic times, too many Americans are struggling with unemployment or under-employment. Congress needs to pass legislation that will help the millions of Americans that are still struggling to find a job. The American Jobs Act is a comprehensive strategy to put Americans back to work and grow our economy. After more than years of stagnant economic growth, the American people are tired of waiting. The American Jobs Act offers a clear path forward towards job creation and economic growth.
I strongly support passing the American Jobs Act because I believe that it one of the best proposals so far for putting Americans back to work quickly. However, with the ongoing political gridlock in Washington, this may not be possible. If not, I will continue to push for passing each piece of the package individually. Providing Job Training Opportunities In today’s struggling economy, factories are moving overseas and small businesses are closing down, leaving fewer options for many hardworking Americans. Many have worked for years in their given field and are not prepared to transition into some modern, growing industries. These workers need training to give them the skills and experience they need to compete in the 21st Century economy. In an effort to boost the economy in Central Indiana, I worked with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle to secure millions of dollars in funding for job training programs at Ivy Tech, the John H. Boner Center and other organizations around the city . This funding provided job-training and workforce development services to Americans who just want to get back to work. Lowering Taxes, Helping Millions of Americans and Stimulating the Economy For those still actively looking for work, lower taxes and extending unemployment benefits is one of the best ways to stimulate the economy by putting more cash in the pockets of millions of Americans. While some in Congress seem beholden to millionaires and billionaires, I continue to advocate for extending and expanding payroll tax cuts for nearly 160 million working and middle class Americans. This will save the vast majority of Americans $1,000 and dollars in the coming year and will incentivize six million small business owners to expand and hire more workers. Stopped American Jobs From Going Overseas America has lost over 50,000 factories and millions of manufacturing jobs in the last decade. Yet, we give tax breaks to companies closing plants here only to import good back to America from factories they open overseas. We do not provide any tax advantage to companies for staying here. We can only strengthen our middle class and protect against further job loss by changing these incentives. I favor ending tax breaks for closed plants, and I strongly support giving tax credits to companies who hire American workers and either build facilities in America or re-open closed factories here. Helping Make American Manufacturing Great Again From cars to plane to computer, America has always been a manufacturing leader. However, after a decade of jobs moving overseas, our manufacturing sector faces collapse. We can reverse these recent setbacks, but Congress must start providing incentives for investing in closed factories. We must make it more profitable for businesses to open plants in America than in China, South America, or other developing countries. This means we must support comprehensive investment in training our workforce, so American workers have the skills needed to compete and create products in demand globally—specifically in high-tech industries. We also must ensure federal assistance is targeted to business owners who employ American workers. If both parties in Congress work together to put our neighbors first, we can make American manufacturing great again. Fighting China’s Unfair Trade Practices That Cost U.S. Jobs On a level playing field, American companies can outperform and out produce those in any other country. Unfortunately, China continues to allow unfair practices, such as stealing intellectual property and making our goods more expensive by manipulating their currency. These actions have cost us hundreds of thousands of jobs and forced companies to shut their doors. In this fragile economy, protecting jobs is my top priority. I have and will continue to support legislation that condemns China’s damaging trade policies and better protects American workers. American Recovery and Reinvestment Act In response to massive job losses and business closures we saw during the Great Recession, I joined bipartisan negotiations that led to the passage of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. This essential legislation was one of the biggest boosts to our economy we have seen in recent memory, helping to keep us from falling deeper into a prolonged recession or depression. The bill helped to keep millions of Americans employed, including 75,000 across Indiana, saved our financial and automobile industries, and provided sorely needed tax relief to 95 percent of American families. This landmark legislation gave hope to the legions of hard working Americans struggling to make ends meet as a result of mass layoffs. Related Press Releases |
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