Economy and Jobs
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Currently, the unemployment rate in the San Joaquin Valley rests at approximately 17%. In many areas of the 21st Congressional District the unemployment rate exceeds an outrageous 32%.

This economic downturn, caused by burdensome regulatory policies at the state and federal levels, and man-made water shortages in the Valley cannot continue. Unemployment coupled with rising gas prices and climbing taxes hurt our nation’s competitiveness and make jobs for hardworking Americans difficult to find. Reforming our tax code, expanding domestic oil production, and completing the Keystone Pipeline would let taxpayers keep more of their hard earned money and free up capital that job creators could use to hire more workers. As long as entrepreneurs remain skeptical about the future business environment, job creation will remain low and unemployment high.

We must focus on the viability of small businesses in the Central Valley through pro-growth policies that reduce the burdens placed on small businesses by the federal government. This means lowering taxes for small businesses, decreasing intrusive federal regulation that stymies innovation, and limiting government spending that distorts the marketplace.

I will work to keep jobs in California and lay the groundwork for a national economic recovery by bringing water back to the Central Valley and by combating onerous regulations that make it difficult to own and operate small businesses.
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