Mr. Speaker, our first priorities in the House of Representatives must be helping to foster job creation and supporting middle class families. More than one month into the 112th Congress, we have not considered one bill that would achieve…
Mr. Speaker, our first priorities in the House of Representatives must be helping to foster job creation and supporting middle class families. More than one month into the 112th Congress, we have not considered one bill that would achieve these goals.
The symbolic resolution before us last Friday directs House committees to conduct oversight of government regulations, one of their principal job functions. We do not need a resolution to tell us to do our job. We need to get to work on behalf of the American people.
On the first day of this session of Congress I introduced a series of bills that would provide tax relief to businesses struggling in this economy and invest in the innovation that leads to long-term economic growth and jobs that will not be shipped overseas. Rather than wasting valuable time to make a political statement, we ought to be considering these or other bills that would promote jobs, innovation, investment, and growth.
One of my bills, the Creating Jobs from Innovative Small Businesses Act, would encourage small business investment by establishing a temporary 20 percent tax credit for investments in research-intensive small businesses. Angel investors play a crucial role in supporting early-stage companies. Angel investors and their investments have a strong local impact and some have immense potential. A $100,000 angel investment, for example, allowed Larry Page and Sergey Brin to move out of their dorm rooms and make Google a commercial success.
A second bill, the Create Jobs by Expanding the R&D Tax Credit Act, would help businesses by strengthening the research and development tax credit, which rewards businesses who invest in innovation and allows them to expand and hire new workers. Another bill would make permanent the R&D tax credit, which studies show returns two dollars in private research investment for every dollar spent. Businesses need the certainty that the R&D tax credit will exist year after year, and they should be able to use the credit to generate capital now.
Let us move beyond symbolic, political resolutions such as this one and get to the important work of rebuilding our economy.