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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Republican senate candidate Jim Rubens gave the following speech before the Disabled American Veterans convention in Gorham earlier this month: Seventy years ago today, 150,000 brave American and Allied soldiers put their lives on the line, facing a hail of fire from Nazi pillboxes, and stormed the beaches of Normandy to win the battle that turned the tide in World War II. These soldiers preserved our freedoms and the entire civilized world. The following editorial was published in the Union Leader on May 26, 2014. Barry Conway is the former commandant of the New Hampshire State Veterans Home and the chair emeritus of the State Veterans Advisory Committee. THE MOST IMPORTANT political contest of this election year is right here in New Hampshire, with our U.S. Senate race. The Granite State is no stranger to high-profile political contests and we have a well-developed, frank and deliberate way of judging the candidates. We look at their actions, not just their words. Scott Brown's been taking it from the left and the right lately - and I have to admit that I find it relatively easy to make fun of him for some reason. I feel just guilty enough about being unfair to him that this editorial in the New Hampshire Journal titled "Why I’m a Conservative Supporting Scott Brown" by Jerry Thibodeau caught my eye: We have an opportunity this fall to win back the United States Senate and take a big step toward repealing Obamacare once and for all. But to do that, we must nominate a candidate who can beat Senator Shaheen, and that’s why I am supporting Scott Brown. The following short piece was written by district two Republican Congressional candidate Gary Lambert: There is perhaps no sector of the economy more vital to sustained economic growth than American domestic energy production. To become more competitive in a variety of economic sectors – technology, manufacturing, transportation –we need affordable energy sources with stable pricing in order to compete globally and create more jobs domestically. Continued below the fold -
The editorial board of the Concord Monitor published the following piece on the state's budget situation last week: Though its just a small bright spot next to the deep black budget hole that is the potential loss of nearly $400 million from the Medicaid Enhancement Tax, the state does have a $15 million surplus left over from last year. Continued below the fold -
Commissioner Jeffrey Rose of the State Department of Resources and Economic Development gave the following speech at the UNH Paul College of Business and Economics: Thank you to Dean Garron for your warm introduction. It’s truly an honor to be here this afternoon and be a part of the UNH Paul College of Business and Economics Hooding Ceremony. Continued below the fold -
Republican district one congressional candidate Dan Innis gave the following speech at the state GOP annual meeting earlier this month: How are you? Senator Shaheen made the following remarks on the floor of the United States Senate yesterday: Madam President – it’s with great sadness that I rise today to honor the memory of Brentwood Police Officer Stephen Arkell. Republican First Congressional District candidate Frank Guinta had the following brief remarks at the NH GOP annual meeting on May 3rd: I’m going to be brief. |