Jobs
From my first day in office, I have been focused on getting Americans back to work. Local unemployment rates in Pennsylvania’s 11th Congressional District have remained higher than state and national averages for far too long.
I have taken steps to ensure that Americans get jobs. In the 112th Congress, I voted for and the House of Representatives passed more than 50 jobs bills to empower small business owners, fix the tax code, increase the competitiveness for U.S. manufacturers, encourage entrepreneurship and growth, and maximize domestic energy production. Thirty-nine of these important bills died in the Senate, including my own bill, the Disaster Loan Fairness Act (H.R. 6296).
I believe the key to job creation and economic recovery is found in small, private businesses. After starting a small business on a $29.95 investment and growing it into the sixth-largest business of its kind in the nation, I understand the importance of policies that will encourage businesses to hire employees. Right now, the federal government is too big, too intrusive, and too expensive to allow the private sector to create jobs. We need to make sure young people today have enough confidence in the economy to take a risk and start their own business.
Additionally, raising taxes on small businesses will only weaken our job-creating environment. I supported legislation to provide permanent tax relief for 99 percent of American taxpayers (H.R. 8). It makes permanent 90 percent of the tax policies enacted in President Bush's term a decade ago, including the capital gains and dividends tax rates for middle-class families. It also permanently alters the estate tax, the so-called ‘death tax,’ so family farms and small businesses aren't crippled after the passing of a loved one.
More on Jobs
WASHINGTON – Congressman Lou Barletta (PA-11) today voted in favor of legislation that makes it easier for Congress to block last minute rules and regulations issued by outgoing presidential administrations. The Midnight Rules Relief Act, H.R.
WASHINGTON – Congressman Lou Barletta (PA-11) today voted for legislation which addresses the infrastructure needs of the U.S. waterway system and also allows states to develop their own enforcement programs for the recycling and disposal of coal ash. The Water Infrastructure Improvements for the Nation Act, S.
NEW YORK CITY – Congressman Lou Barletta (PA-11) today met with President-Elect Donald J. Trump at Trump Tower to discuss the presidential transition. Barletta is a member of the Presidential Transition Team Executive Committee.
Following the meeting, Barletta met with reporters. The following are excerpts of his conversation with the press:
Barletta: It was great. We had a good conversation. We talked about many issues concerning the country and talked about the President-Elect’s ideas moving forward.
WASHINGTON – Congressman Lou Barletta, PA-11, today looked back on the 114th Congress and highlighted his record of achievement in a variety of areas, including saving taxpayers more than $3 billion, combating the opioid epidemic, negotiating a new Highway Bill, protecting the steel industry, and strengthening after school programs for children. The 114th Congress opened in January 2015 and already has concluded much of its business leading into its final session days in November and December of this year. The 114th Congress has constituted Barletta’s third term in the U.
WASHINGTON – Congressman Lou Barletta (PA-11) backed legislation that delays an Obama Administration rule that would more than double the salary threshold for employees eligible for overtime pay, reducing opportunities for workers and hurting nonprofits, colleges, and universities. Barletta was an original cosponsor of H.R.
Rep. Barletta was named a “Guardian of Small Business” by the National Federation of Independent Business for the third straight Congress.
WASHINGTON – Congressman Lou Barletta (PA-11) today won approval for funding for the design and construction of a new federal courthouse in Harrisburg, securing a total of $194,444,000 in a resolution passed by the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, of which Barletta is a member. As chairman of the Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings, and Emergency Management, Barletta has pushed for the project, including holding hearings in his subcommittee to discuss the proposal. The Harrisburg structure is part of the long-awaited federal courthouse
WASHINGTON – Congressman Lou Barletta (PA-11) today backed bipartisan legislation that reforms and strengthens Career and Technical Education (CTE) policy to help more Americans enter the workforce with the expertise they need to compete for high-skilled, in-demand jobs. A co-sponsor of the bill, Barletta voted for the Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act (H.R. 5587), which improves and reauthorizes the Carl D.
WASHINGTON – Congressman Lou Barletta (PA-11) today supported bipartisan legislation to reform Career and Technical Education (CTE) policy to help more Americans enter the workforce with the skills they need to compete for high-skilled, in-demand jobs. In a hearing of the House Education and the Workforce Committee, Barletta voted for the Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act (H.R. 5587), which improves and reauthorizes the Carl D.
Click here or on image for video of Rep. Barletta arguing against purchasing energy from Russia for U.S. military installations.