CREATING PRIVATE SECTOR ECONOMIC GROWTH

Families across Upstate New York are concerned about the direction of our country, particularly with the notion that our children and grandchildren could face a reduced standard of living with fewer opportunities if nothing is done. Middle-class incomes, and those of people striving to get into the middle class, have been flat or declining in recent years. The American Dream is in crisis.

The key to more jobs and higher incomes is robust economic growth. The US economy is barely growing above 1% which too many in Washington have embraced that as the new normal. To really restore hope and create opportunities, we need to see sustainable economic growth in the 3-4% range.  Washington needs to know that their new normal is unacceptable to our families and workers here. It is unacceptable to our seniors who have paid into Medicare and Social Security.

There is a sense of despair that families here have when looking towards Washington – and rightfully so. Expectations have been set so low – too many realize no help seems to be coming but hopefully they won’t keep harming our futures. Sentiments were similar towards Albany when I worked with others to deliver a budget that closed a $5 billion deficit as we cut spending – for the first time in over 50 years – and reduced taxes. The stakes are higher today and the atmosphere in Washington is worse, but it doesn’t mean we shouldn’t fight to take these steps to get our economy moving once again.

Reduce Taxes for Hardworking Americans, Simplify the Tax Code and End Corporate Welfare

We need to cut taxes, simplify the tax code and remove unproductive provisions which are no longer necessary or have outlived their usefulness. The U.S. tax code is approaching 75,000 pages, and in recent years under President Obama, we have seen exponential growth. Unfortunately, many of these regulations were written by special interests, corporate lawyers and accountants. Tax simplification was accomplished in 1986 under President Reagan and was supported by bipartisan majorities in Congress. The president and Congress must enact common-sense reforms, including simplifying the tax code.

• Lower tax rates to simplify the system and ease the burden on hardworking Americans and small businesses.
• Flatten the tax code and close loopholes (with exceptions for deductions for mortgage interest, state and local taxes, and employer-funded healthcare).
• Ensure any effort to reform the broken tax system and close tax loopholes doesn’t raise tax rates on hardworking Americans. I will oppose any plan that includes net tax increases disguised as tax reform.
• Put an end to corporate welfare, such as ethanol subsidies – estimated to cost motorists up to $10 billion annually in higher fuel prices. Ethanol subsidies have also distorted agricultural markets, raising food prices.

Promote Local Jobs and Investment, Keep U.S. Tax Dollars at Home

It’s alarming when we hear news that Pfizer, a major pharmaceutical company (employing over 4,600 in New York), is seeking to merge with Allergan, and potentially move its corporate headquarters to Ireland.

US companies are being forced into these mergers because the tax code imposes double taxation on their foreign earnings — once when earnings are made, and again when a company brings profits home.  Few of our foreign competitors impose this burden on their companies, putting US firms—and American workers—at a distinct disadvantage. The result: over $2 trillion in corporate earnings are stashed abroad, instead of being reinvested in the US economy.

• Congress should fix this by switching to a system in which profits are only taxed once where they are earned and local investments are incentivized. This simple fix will eliminate economic pressures on companies to move overseas and keep jobs in America.
• Corporate tax reform should also lower maximum corporate tax rates. Our country’s corporate tax rate of 35% is one of the highest in the world. There is bipartisan agreement among economists and even in Washington that we should make our rate more competitive but they have failed to act. A US corporate rate of 20% with fewer loopholes and deductions will encourage US companies to invest based upon expected economic return instead of where investments are motivated only by tax considerations. And those investments mean more good-paying jobs stay here.

Incentivize Small Business Investment

Small businesses create approximately 70% of all new jobs. They are the backbone of our communities yet many are still struggling to recover from the Great Recession while Washington offers empty rhetoric and no relief.

• A true tax-reform plan will ensure that small businesses which file taxes as subchapter “S” entities aren’t paying higher rates than major corporations.
• Allow immediate 100% expensing of capital expenditures to help small businesses, farmers and manufacturers to investment in the equipment and technology they need. Such a reform would allow these job creators to fully depreciate a new machine, truck or other capital equipment in the year it is purchased and will incentivize local purchasing.

End the Regulatory Madness from Washington

Regulatory reform is critical to fixing our economic problems. Small businesses and farmers throughout the 19^th District are being hampered by an ever-increasing set of rules and requirements that impede their ability to create jobs. For instance, recent Obama administration efforts to greatly expand navigable waters of the United States rules would cripple family farmers throughout Upstate New York, imposing expensive new restrictions on agriculture.

• Reform Dodd-Frank. Our community bankers complain that Dodd-Frank rules – intended to crack down on “too big to fail” financial institutions – have added hundreds of thousands of new compliance costs with no benefit and have made it more difficult for community banks to lend to local businesses.
• Require new regulations with an economic impact of over $100 million to be approved by an up-or-down vote of Congress. Such a requirement will force federal agencies and Congress to truly consider the financial and economic costs of their new rules and regulations.
• Set timelines for agency review of projects. Major infrastructure projects – and many minor ones – are held hostage to a seemingly endless set of environmental reviews. Agencies should coordinate review of projects at the start, set hard and fast dates for completion of environmental and historic preservation analyses and be held accountable for meeting deadlines. Locally, the Belleayre Resort, in Ulster and Delaware counties, became a victim of one of the longest development-review processes in the country, taking 16 years for the DEC to finally hand down its environmental clearances, costing hundreds of good-paying jobs and destroying opportunities for many families in our region. The process was also stymied by endless litigation made possible by New York’s vague environmental laws. Major projects, even those not located in our immediate area, affect our taxpayers and communities.  For instance, the Tappan Zee Bridge replacement has a direct impact upon motorists who utilize and pay to maintain the New York State Thruway.  Amtrak passengers along the Empire State corridor, including the Hudson and Rhinebeck stations, are impacted by the dire need to build a third rail tunnel connecting New York and New Jersey.  Major infrastructure projects need to be expedited, but this can only happen if regulatory review deadlines are established.

Making Healthcare Affordable and Accessible

Obamacare has raised premiums, distorted insurance markets and reduced the quality of care for too many Americans. The employer mandate has reduced full-time employment at a number of Upstate businesses. Many business owners have told me of increased premiums and less choice as a result of the Affordable Care Act.

I will seek to repeal and replace Obamacare with a patient-centered approach that provides more choices to families. I would also provide the same tax treatment for health insurance purchased by individuals and small groups as now accorded to employer provided health care. We should also expand access to community health centers for the indigent and uninsured. Lastly, each person should be afforded the ability to utilize a flex spending account for routine medical expenses. We need to restore an economic relationship between medical providers and consumers as a way to bring more people in touch with what medical care actually costs.