Mr. President, today I am introducing the Small Business and Military Families Assistance Act which provides an extension of a provision included in the Heroes Earnings Assistance and Relief Tax,…
Mr. President, today I am introducing the Small Business and Military Families Assistance Act which provides an extension of a provision included in the Heroes Earnings Assistance and Relief Tax, HEART, Act of 2008 which passed last Congress. Senator Lincoln is a cosponsor. The HEART Act has been referred to as the ``thank you bill'' and that is very appropriate. The purpose of the HEART Act was to provide military families with well deserved tax relief. As we approach Veterans Day, I believe that it is appropriate to extend the tax credit for small employers of reservists called to active duty.
The best definition of patriotism is keeping faith with those who serve our country. That means giving our troops the resources they need to keep them safe while they are protecting us. It means supporting our troops at home as well as abroad.
Currently, there are over 120,000 military personnel serving in Iraq. There are approximately 68,000 U.S. service members in Afghanistan. Many of these men and women are reservists and have been called to active duty, frequently for multiple tours.
Most large businesses have the resources to provide supplemental income to reservist employees called up. I applaud the businesses that have been able to pay supplemental income to their reservists, but it is not easy for small businesses to do the same.
In January 2007, the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship held a hearing on veterans' small business issues. A majority of our veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan are Reserve and National Guard members--35 percent of whom are either self-employed or own or are employed by a small business.
We heard some disturbing statistics about the impact and unintended consequences the call up of reservists is having on small businesses. According to a January 2007 survey conducted by Workforce Management, 54 percent of the businesses surveyed responded that they would not hire a citizen soldier if they knew that they could be called up for an indeterminate amount of time. I am concerned that long call ups and redeployments have made it hard for small businesses to be supportive of civilian soldiers.
The HEART Act provides a tax credit to small businesses to assist with the cost of paying the salary of their reservist employees when they are called to active duty. This tax credit provides an incentive for small employers to eliminate any pay gap between civilian and military pay. The provision provides small businesses with less than 50 employees with a tax credit of 20 percent of the differential pay. The maximum credit is $4,000. The credit is for amounts paid for before January 1, 2010. My legislation would extend this provision for an additional year.
While our reservists are continuing to serve, we should continue to provide assistance. Now is not the time to end this credit which helps small business do the right thing. During these difficult economic times, it is a struggle for small business to pay their employees who are a called up a wage differential.
Our service men and women need to know that we are honoring their service. An extension of the small business credit will help our military families with some of their financial burdens. It cannot repay the sacrifices they have made for us, but it is a small way we can support our troops and their families.
