Growing our Economy and Middle Class

Statement

One of the most commonly shared challenges about life on Long Island is our high cost of living. Individuals and families are working so hard just to make ends meet. Income levels that may be considered upper middle class in other parts of our country don't go anywhere near as far in New York. To raise wages more, we need businesses to flourish and when businesses grow on Long Island we need them to stay here. This will create more good paying, private sector jobs, improve liquidity throughout our local economy, and expand the middle class locally. There is so much that can be done at all levels of government to help make Long Island more affordable so that younger generations can afford to raise a family here and seniors can afford to stay.

While serving two terms in the New York State Senate, and now my first term in Congress, one of my highest priorities has been to help grow our economy and middle class. Whether it was working on the state level to successfully repeal the MTA Payroll Tax for 80 percent of employers, enact the nation's strongest property tax cap, and reduce middle income tax rates to the lowest level in 60 years, or working on the federal level to help remove barriers that prevent businesses from growing and jobs from being created, while providing tax relief for the middle class, there have been so many worthy causes to pursue progress.

In Congress, I have worked to advance legislation to shut-down job killing red tape hurting our small businesses, such as the Regulations From the Executive in Need of Scrutiny (REINS) Act (H.R. 427); reform and simplify our broken tax code so that more Americans can do their taxes on a form as simple as a postcard; and reject flawed trade policy, like President Obama's Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) and Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP). When trade deals are entered into, we must ensure that they are good trade deals for the American worker -- otherwise they should not be entered into at all. We must do everything we can to create more American jobs, which is why the House passed the American Manufacturing Competitiveness Act (H.R. 4923), which was signed into law, to boost "Made in America" products to keep good paying jobs here in the United States.

Last December, Congress passed the Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes (PATH) Act, which was signed into law, making permanent 20 different tax relief provisions to help Long Island businesses and families. The House also advanced policies to help reduce energy and healthcare costs, such as the Restoring Americans' Healthcare Freedom Reconciliation Act (H.R. 3762), which would repeal and replace major provisions of Obamacare. The Hire More Heroes Act (H.R. 22), which was signed into law, was another major accomplishment of Congress; this bipartisan law helps Long Island veterans obtain jobs and financial security, encouraging businesses to hire veterans, while providing local employees with relief from burdensome requirements under Obamacare.

Here on Long Island, our roads, overpasses, and bridges are essential to the Long economy. After ten years of short term extensions, Congress passed a permanent, bipartisan, five-year highway bill, which provides long-term funding for our transportation and infrastructure. Within the highway bill, I secured my legislation, the Safe Bridges Act (H.R. 3168), which was signed into law, to provide much-need federal funds to help improve our local roads and bridges. Under the Safe Bridges Act, over 80 bridges and overpasses across the First Congressional District will now be eligible for federal funding; creating jobs, improving our overall economy, and boosting transportation safety.

Another key component to help grow our economy is ensuring that our students are fully prepared as the next generation workforce. Last year, Congress passed the bipartisan STEM Education Act (H.R. 1020), which was signed into law, and provides federal funding to increase Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) programs in our schools. STEM is vital to the education of our youth and the future of our country in the 21st century; preparing students in our communities to pursue good paying jobs, which contribute to the growth of our economy, while increasing innovation, a necessary requirement for the United States to remain competitive in the global marketplace. We also must modernize student loan debt financing so that more students can afford to go to college, which is why I introduced the Earnings Contingent Education Loans (ExCEL) Act (H.R. 3695) to replace the current broken student loan system with an individualized loan repayment program tailored to each student's needs. Estimates show that currently 40 million Americans have student debt totaling over $1.2 trillion. Passage of this legislation would allow more college graduates to afford to get their professional lives off the ground successfully and start a family here on Long Island.

There is so much more to be done at all levels of government to help grow our economy and make Long Island more affordable. While there is no single piece of legislation at any level of government that is going to completely address this challenge, we must continue to pursue solutions that help grow our middle class and improve the business climate on Long Island, put American workers first, and create more good paying jobs.

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