Small Business Tax Cut Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. BLUMENAUER. I listened to my good friend and colleague from the other side of the river from my hometown of Portland, Oregon, talking about trying to assist small business and encourage economic development.

But the facts are that the vast majority of this aid, as we've talked about, is going to be unfocused. It's going to go to people whether they need it or not, including some of the wealthiest individuals and partnerships--accountants, lobbyists--and to companies regardless of whether or not they add employment or reduce it.

At this very time, we have people on Capitol Hill who are begging us to get real about infrastructure investment. We finally are getting a bill to conference, but we're hung up on funding it. The Republican budget would cut transportation funding 46 percent, $6.5 billion less than is necessary to keep current obligations. This week, small business people, including a number who visited my office, came in, imploring us to stop the games and to get on with the reauthorization of the Surface Transportation Act.

If we really are going to borrow $46 billion from China or from whomever and add to the deficit, if we have that capacity, for heavens sakes, we should invest it in rebuilding and renewing America.

The SPEAKER pro tempore. The time of the gentleman has expired.

Mr. LEVIN. I yield the gentleman an additional 30 seconds.

Mr. BLUMENAUER. With this $46 billion, added to the bipartisan Senate bill that passed with 74 votes--half the Republicans--we could have a robust reauthorization of the Surface Transportation Act and create hundreds of thousands of family-wage jobs. Not by picking winners and losers, but by going back to the day when we used to work together on a bipartisan basis to fund infrastructure and to help strengthen every community around the country.

Reject this gimmick. If we have an extra $46 billion we're going to borrow, invest it in rebuilding and renewing America--really helping small business and strengthening the environment in every community across America.

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Mr. BLUMENAUER. Mr. Speaker, I heard my good friend from Chicago talking about people begging for investment. Well, business is looking for our assistance, but nobody has come seeking an inefficient effort like this that will dig ourselves deeper into debt and not have impact. We have offered alternatives that would not have added to the deficit and would have helped business right away.

I'm honored to be joined on the floor by a young friend, Johnny Hammer, who in looking at this assessment, said, This is going to be adding to the deficit. That's right, and we didn't need to do that. Instead, we should be focusing on things that are deficit neutral that will give American business things that will add productivity right now.

I strongly urge my colleagues to reject this proposal and think about the young Johnny Hammers of this world investing in our future in a way that is responsible and sustainable.

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