It’s time to report back to you about my work in Congress. The first half of this year has had its ups and downs in Washington, but I remain focused on jumpstarting the American Dream. Here’s what I’ve been working on.
Jobs and the Economy
In January, I introduced a bill to help entrepreneurs get their businesses off the ground. My legislation, the Reward and Encourage New Business Act, would permanently double the tax deduction for new businesses from $5,000 to $10,000. This would help new entrepreneurs and grow the economy.
The economy has improved, and the national unemployment rate has dropped to 6.3 percent (in NH, it’s 4.4 percent), but the recovery has not lifted all of our citizens. Low-income and middle class Americans have faced stagnant wages. A simple and effective way to jumpstart the American Dream is to raise the minimum wage. According to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, gradually raising the minimum wage to $10.10/hour would boost the paychecks of 25 million hard-working Americans and help up to 4.5 million Americans get out of poverty. Independent think tanks like the Economic Policy Institute estimate that raising the minimum wage could create 85,000 jobs. The money that workers earned from these jobs would be spent in their communities, thus helping small businesses.
Manufacturing is New Hampshire’s second-biggest industry. As a founding member of the Congressional Make it in America Working Group and the Trade Working Group, I am working to promote the export of U.S. goods and encourage businesses to create good paying jobs in the U.S. I have cosponsored several bills to promote American manufacturing and improve our economy, including H.R. 2821, the American Jobs Act.
New Hampshire’s Advanced Manufacturing Partnership in Education Initiative (AMPEd) has succeeded, funded by the Recovery Act (stimulus) that I helped pass in 2009. AMPEd is allowing our New Hampshire community colleges to train a world-class advanced manufacturing workforce in partnership with local businesses. Each college now offers a manufacturing career pathway to prepare students for high-paying, high-tech jobs with businesses here in New Hampshire. This program has driven our economy into the 21st century. Recently I was honored to speak at the opening of a new manufacturing plant in Rochester. The plant will rely on workers trained at Great Bay Community College’s new Advanced Technology and Academic Center. For more information, please go to www.greatbay.edu.
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