Issues - Economy

Rep. Holt meets with small business owners to discuss how he can support their innovation and job creation.

"Especially in these challenging economic times, America’s progress depends upon protecting economic security for everyone.  Our nation must embrace its responsibility to support education and innovation – the very best investments we can make to create jobs in New Jersey. " – Rep. Rush Holt

In this section:

• Lowering Taxes for Middle-Class Families
• Supporting Manufacturing in America
• Supporting Innovation and Job Creation
• Enacting Property Tax Relief
• Promoting Einstein's Alley

Lowering Taxes for Middle-Class Families

Rep. Holt is a cosponsor of and voted for the Middle Class Tax Cut Act to provide middle-class tax relief that balances the needs of working families with our nation's need to get its fiscal house in order.  That bill would have maintained the current tax rates for 98 percent of Americans: those individuals earning $200,000 or less after deductions and those couples earning $250,000 or less after deductions. The roughly 2 percent of taxpayers with incomes above those levels would see their tax rates return to their levels during the prosperous 1990s — a decade which saw the largest budget surplus in recent history and the creation of 22 million new jobs. 

More families in Central New Jersey are affected by the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) than anywhere else in the country.  Rep. Holt is working to pass a permanent fix to AMT. He cosponsored legislation that would increase the AMT exemption amount to $100,000 for married couples filing a joint tax return and to $75,000 for unmarried individuals.  This legislation also would adjust the increased exemption amounts for inflation in tax year 2013 and beyond.

Other tax relief that Rep. Holt has supported for families includes:

• The Commuter Benefits Equity Act to provide tax benefits for commuters who use public transportation. 
• The Tax Relief for Educators Act to establish a permanent $500 teacher tax credit for purchasing school supplies.
• The Wireless Tax Fairness Act to place a five-year moratorium on any increase in cell phone taxes.
• The Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) Act to allow a tax exemption for funds used for disability expenses, such as the costs of education, residence, and health care.

Supporting Manufacturing in America

Rep. Holt believes that manufacturing is an integral part of a successful economy.  A robust manufacturing sector provides middle-class jobs that pay well and can put Americans back to work.  In 2011, Holt toured mid-sized manufactures in Ewing, Somerset, and Tinton Falls. He also hosted a manufacturing roundtable at the Rutgers University School of Engineering, which brought together business leaders and employees to discuss ideas for expanding U.S. manufacturing and creating new jobs.

Rep. Holt voted for the Export-Import Bank Reauthorization Act of 2012, now law, to reauthorize the Export-Import Bank through September 2014 and support U.S. exports of manufactured goods and services.  He also cosponsored the Currency Reform for Fair Trade Act, a bill that would grant the Commerce Department the necessary tools to combat unfair manipulation of foreign currency.

Supporting Innovation and Job Creation

As a scientist, Rep. Holt believes that investing in innovation infrastructure – including physical sciences and energy research – is vital to a strategy for sustained, long-term economic growth. Rep. Holt has been a leader in Congress in establishing an innovation agenda, and he helped to enact the America Competes Act, which invests in the research and development that creates jobs in the short term and drives economic growth in the long term.

In December 2008, Rep. Holt hosted a roundtable discussion at Princeton University, along with Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Congressional leaders, and national leaders in the science and technology community to highlight the importance of innovation infrastructure to ensure long-term American competitiveness. Two months later, The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act included a historic $22 billion investment in science research and development. A report by the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation determined that for each additional $1 billion invested in science in the economic recovery bill, 20,000 American jobs are created. These jobs go not just to scientists but to research assistants, electricians, technicians and construction workers.

Enacting Property Tax Relief

Rep. Holt wrote the law that, until 2011, allowed more than 600,000 New Jersey homeowners (and more than 30 million homeowners nationwide) who do not itemize their federal tax returns to receive a tax deduction of $500 for single filers and $1,000 for joint filers.  He has introduced legislation to renew and extend this tax relief for another five years.

Promoting Einstein’s Alley

Rep. Holt established Einstein's Alley in Central New Jersey as an initiative to spur economic growth ensure our region's economic vitality.

Like Silicon Valley or North Carolina's Research Triangle, Rep. Holt envisions Einstein's Alley as a home to vibrant communities, cutting-edge companies and productive workers whose unique assets and shared vision attract new, innovative industries and create new jobs.

Rep. Holt continues to work with Einstein’s Alley to help central New Jersey become a nationally recognized, world-class economic powerhouse.