Budget, Jobs and the Economy

Senator Toomey is working to streamline burdensome regulations and reform tax policies that are hindering job creation and economic growth in this country. This Congress, Senator Toomey has cosponsored legislation that would reform our tax code for small businesses, undo Washington's costly health care mandates, cut through red tape that undermines economic growth and affordable energy, and eliminate costly taxes and regulations that directly impact job creators in Pennsylvania. Senator Toomey also supports simplifying the tax code and lowering tax rates for all Americans to encourage economic growth and make American companies more competitive.

Senator Toomey is committed to restoring economic growth and private-sector job creation in this country and putting our federal government on a sustainable fiscal path. These two goals are inextricably connected. We cannot maximize economic growth without getting our government's finances in order, and we can't get our finances in order if we don't maximize economic growth and reform unaffordable programs.

One of the primary drivers of economic growth and job creation is small businesses. Unfortunately, our nation's tax code is a labyrinth of outdated and confusing rules that drain job creators of the time and money they need to hire more workers and grow. To fix this problem, Senator Toomey has introduced the bipartisan Start-up Jobs and Innovation Act. This legislation would make it easier to create a small business by doubling the amount of start-up expenses new companies can deduct, would make it easier to expand an existing business by permanently renewing sec. 179 expensing provisions, and would ease tax compliance burdens by allowing more small businesses to use the simpler cash accounting method.

The Start-up Jobs and Innovation Act follows up on Senator Toomey's successful efforts last Congress in passing the bipartisan JOBS Act to provide relief for small businesses. The core of the JOBS Act includes three bills that Senator Toomey introduced. The Small Company Capital Formation Act (with Senator Tester), the Reopening American Capital Markets to Emerging Growth Companies Act (with Senator Schumer), and the Private Company Flexibility and Growth Act (with Senator Carper) all cut regulatory burdens on small businesses and make it easier for them to raise much-needed capital.

Our nation faces a daunting fiscal challenge that can no longer be ignored. The federal government ran a staggering $680 billion deficit in 2013, bringing total government debt to more than $16.7 trillion. The deficit for 2014 is expected to add another half a trillion to our debt. In addition to slowing economic growth and crowding out private investment, our financial situation is eroding people's faith in our economy and undermining the credibility of our government. It would be tragic to pass along such massive, unsustainable debt on to our children and grandchildren and leave them with a country that is poorer and less productive than the one their parents inherited.
Moreover, if left unchecked, our runaway debt will eventually have to be paid for with trillions of dollars in tax increases. These tax increases will further hamper job creation and permanently lower the standard of living for all Americans.

Senator Toomey believes that it is imperative that we bring spending under control and have a federal government that lives within its means. That is why Senator Toomey has cosponsored a balanced budget amendment to the U. S. Constitution that would require the federal government to stop spending money it doesn't have. He also has introduced his own 10-year budget plan which would balance the federal budget within nine years and finally put our country on a fiscally responsible path. Senator Toomey also introduced bills to cap spending and permanently ban earmarks, while cosponsoring legislation that would end wasteful taxpayer subsidies, such as those for ethanol.

Some of Senator Toomey's Job Creation Efforts:

• Senator Toomey is a cosponsor of legislation that would repeal the medical device tax created by Obamacare. This tax is hurting companies that produce life-saving medical equipment and is increasing health care costs for the American people.
• Senator Toomey is a cosponsor of a bill to repeal a provision of Obamacare that penalizes employers for hiring their 50th worker. With millions of Americans out of work, there is no reason why we should punish businesses for expanding.
• Senator Toomey is a strong supporter of the Keystone Pipeline. Building the pipeline would create jobs and boost our access to oil. Unfortunately, President Obama has delayed approving the pipeline for several years.
• Senator Toomey supports bills that would end the administration's War on Coal. One such bill, the Coal Miner Employment and Domestic Energy Infrastructure Act (S. 831), introduced by Senator Coats, would stop the Secretary of the Interior from creating new regulations that hurt coal mine employment. Senator Toomey also supports resolution S. J Res 30 that would stop the EPA from creating new regulations that would prevent the construction of new coal power plants.
• Senator Toomey supports efforts to end a mandate that forces the U.S. to waste 40 percent of the nation's corn crop for fuel. This regulation is endangering refineries in the Philadelphia area and could cost the state of Pennsylvania hundreds of jobs while raising fuel costs for consumers.
• Senator Toomey is a cosponsor of the REINS Act, which seeks to end the stream of job-killing rules and regulations from the federal government. The REINS Act would require Congress to approve any major rule that raises costs for consumers or impacts the economy by $100 million or more.
• Senator Toomey is a strong supporter of the bipartisan Workforce Innovation Opportunity Act, which modernizes and streamlines federal job training programs to ensure Pennsylvanians have the skills they need to find high-paying jobs in today's economy. The Workforce Innovation Opportunity Act was passed with overwhelming bipartisan majorities in the House and Senate and was signed into law by President Obama on June 22, 2014.