Getting Oregon Back to Work

Supporting Small Business

Small businesses are critical to a robust American economy and play a key role in its recovery. They drive innovation and create jobs; in fact, small businesses created over 65% of the new jobs in the country during the last 15 years. Here are just a few ways Congressman Blumenauer has worked to help small businesses:

• The Small Business and Infrastructure Jobs Tax Act of 2010, passed by the House on March 24, 2010 - Increases the deductions for start-up expenses, so that more people will start businesses; excludes 100% of small business capital gains from taxation, encouraging investment; and expands Build America Bonds, funding projects that put people to work.
• The HIRE Act, signed into law by President Obama on March 18, 2010 - institutes a payroll tax break for businesses that hire unemployed workers and extends generous expensing rules for small businesses. Additionally, small businesses can receive a $1,000 tax credit if they keep newly hired workers on the job for at least a year.
• The Jobs for Main Street Act, passed by the House on December 16, 2009 - helps small businesses by eliminating fees on Small Business Administration (SBA) loans to make them more affordable for small companies, and by increasing loan guarantees for small business.
• Congressman Blumenauer worked with the Solar company Solexant to establish a new, $200 manufacturing facility in Gresham, creating at least 100 new, local jobs for that community.

Economic Recovery

Earl supported the passage of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which has helped stabilize our economy after its near total collapse. Clearly, there is more work to do, but so far this important piece of legislation has helped:

• Keep thousands of teachers in the classroom.
• Hundreds of police office on the street.
• Assisted those who are out work with unemployment assistance and health insurance.
• Provided loans for small business to stay afloat or expand.
• Jobs to repair roads and bridges.

It also provided a tax cut for 95% of all Americans!

In addition, Oregon has been awarded a $20 million energy grant, Clean Energy Works Oregon, to have local contractors do commercial energy retrofits. This grant will not only provide good paying local jobs, but increase energy efficiency and save money in the long run. The Recovery Act also awarded Clackamas County with a grant of over $7.8 million to upgrade and expand their broadband internet infrastructure, not only providing skilled laborers jobs in the construction, but the lasting information-technology backbone that will help rural communities and schools compete in an increasingly competitive tech-savvy job market.

Rebuilding and Renewing America

Investment in America's infrastructure is also vital to our economic recovery, creating jobs and laying the physical foundation for stronger communities. Earl has long been an advocate of Rebuilding and Renewing America – an investment in our vital infrastructures – from transportation to water to energy transmission. For every billion dollars spent rebuilding America, 25,000 jobs are created. So far, the efforts of Congress and President Obama to invest in our nation’s infrastructure and communities have generated over two million jobs. These are just a few examples of benefits to Oregon:

• $140 million to jumpstart three wind farm construction projects in Oregon providing more jobs in rural communities;
• $50 million for Solar Energy Technologies, with $400,000 dedicated to Portland’s Neighborhood Solar Initiatives;
• $53.3 million for Tri-Met projects, putting nearly 2,000 Oregonians back to work; and
• $13 million to help support the construction, rehabilitation and preservation of low income housing.

A good example of Rebuilding and Renewing America is the Portland Streetcar. Earl has supported streetcar projects since his days in the City Council and has been able to get the federal government on board. These projects not only provided jobs to the workers laying laying track, but the streetcars that will be running in Portland and cities all across America are manufactured right here at Oregon Iron Works. Architects and planners that work here are now being hired to plan projects in the dozens of other cities across the US that are looking into joining the Streetcar revolution.