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Courtesy Congressman Henry Cuellar,

 Where we are

The American people have given Congress a critical task that requires immediate action: creating and retaining jobs in this country.

 Too many Americans, from recent college graduates to veterans, are feeling the burden of unemployment.  Lines are longer at unemployment offices and jobs are scarce for highly skilled or qualified candidates. We all know someone who is looking for a job and some of you may be currently looking, but let me assure you that my priority in Congress is to bring the American people back to work.

 The key to job creation is to support the ultimate job creators – small businesses. Legislation passed in Congress should be centered on aid to small businesses so that they hire. According to the Small Business Administration (SBA), small firms account for 65 percent of new jobs created over the past 17 years. As a former small business owner, I have seen how firms are more than job creators; they strengthen the economic security of the nation.

 After meeting with small business owners, hearing from my constituents from an online poll and participating in a conference call with SBA Administrator Karen Mills, I learned that Americans want action now to relieve our high unemployment rate. By supporting entrepreneurs and small business owners, Congress will be taking necessary steps to reduce the unacceptably high unemployment rate.

Congress must act

The American Jobs Act was recently introduced in Congress and seeks to aid small businesses in a number of ways. First, it will provide a $4,000 tax credit to employers that hire long-term unemployed workers. At a time when our unemployment rate is 9.1 percent, providing incentives to hire the unemployed while providing tax breaks is a win-win. It is necessary to alleviate the financial burdens on middle class families by creating more jobs in the county.

 The bill also provides reform and regulatory reductions to help small businesses access capital including: the acceleration of government payments to small contractors, the creation of a one-stop online portal for small businesses to easily access government services, patent reform and increasing guarantees for bonds so that businesses may compete for infrastructure projects.

 Part of the legislation invests in modernization projects and gets Americans back to work. Over 35,000 schools would receive improvements and upgrades, infrastructure and airport improvement projects are also proposed. This would place hundreds of thousands of construction workers, planners, architects and engineers back on the job.

 At the heart of the rebuilding projects lie small businesses, who will be the contractors that will hire the worker and oversee the development plan – more renovations mean more small business jobs.

Hearing from you

In September, I asked constituents in my district their opinion on how to best create jobs and support small businesses. We received over 1,200 responses and I plan to put your ideas to good use. Job creation legislation is a good start.

 According to the survey results, there was overwhelming support for reducing taxes for employers who hire veterans or those currently unemployed – 80 percent support this effort. Two thirds of respondents supported decreases to federal regulations and 914 respondents believe that small businesses should be allowed low-interest refinancing without requiring expansion. These initiatives create jobs and strengthen America’s economy; these are all important components I support.

 I also had the opportunity to review the survey in a job creation conference call with SBA Administrator Karen Mills. During that call, we also shared our views on how small businesses are the engine of job creation. We discussed access to capital, increased lending, and tax breaks for small businesses.

 Along with the successful survey results and conference call with the SBA Administrator; I wanted to hear directly from small businesses. I held a roundtable discussion with 25 small businesses – ranging from restaurants to local dry cleaners – to discuss job creation ideas. These conversations and events in the district help me represent you in Congress as I work on policy changes that support small businesses, create jobs, grow our economy and provide a better life for Americans.

 Small businesses are the foundation of our American economy and supporting legislation that allows for tax credits and reductions in regulations, the start up of improvement projects that benefit the economies of local communities and the passage of trade and export initiatives is taking a step in the right direction as we look to lower the unemployment rate.

 I am committed to getting Americans back on track. I will continue to work in all earnest efforts to ensure job creation efforts move forward in Congress to benefit you and our nation.