Economy
While Houston has been fortunate to not have been hit as hard as the rest of the nation by the housing and economic crises, the fact remains clear that we need to take action to make sure our economy continues to grow and our nation continues to recuperate from these setbacks. The best way to accomplish this is through strengthening our domestic economy and creating jobs.
“Make It In America”
One of my top priorities in the House of Representatives is pushing for legislation that will strengthen and protect the American economy and increase our job base. The “Make It In America” program will put American jobs and American manufacturing front and center. The focus of this initiative is to support job creation today and in the future by encouraging businesses to make products and innovate in the United States and strengthen our country by investing in infrastructure and key sectors, such as education and energy.It was our nation’s manufacturing base that created our middle class and made America the largest economy in the world. Reinvigorating our nation’s manufacturing sector and putting millions of Americans back to work should be a non-partisan issue. I am a major supporter of this initative and have cosposored legislation that aims to help our economy. Many of the "Make it in America" bills are still under consideration but I will continue to support legislation like these that bring businesses and jobs back to the United States.
Tax Cuts to Help America’s Businesses Hire and Grow
The payroll tax paid by businesses on their first $5 million in payroll could be cut in half to 3.1 percent. This would greatly help small businesses, which constitute 98% of all firms, and 390,000 businesses in Texas. Another proposed idea that I support is exempting firms that increase their payroll by adding new workers or increasing the wages of their current workers from paying payroll taxes on those increases.
Putting Workers Back on the Job While Rebuilding and Modernizing America
Immediate investments in infrastructure would improve our roads, rail, airports and waterways such as the Port of Houston. Highway and transit modernization projects would allow immediate investments of billions of dollars in Texas which would support thousands of local jobs. Public schools and community colleges across the country could be renovated and modernized, which would create jobs while improving classrooms and upgrading our schools to meet 21st century needs.