This past week in Congress we continued to focus on cutting spending and reducing unnecessary regulations to help create a better economic environment for job growth.
With the Democrat-led Senate and White House remaining absent in putting forth a long term budget plan that seriously tackles our massive debt and deficits, the House voted to cut another $6 billion in government spending over the next three weeks to keep the government funded.
As I said on the House floor, this current budget debate is a good reminder to all of us in Congress that the message sent on November 2nd by 5th District Virginians, and all Americans, is that now is the time to stop the government spending, stop the government borrowing, and stop the raid on our children’s future.
I have and will continue to support polices and legislation that seek to rein in government spending to get our fiscal house in order and remove the uncertainty that is stalling job creation and economic growth.
To that end, this week I offered an amendment to H.R. 861, the Neighborhood Stabilization Program Termination Act. The amendment directs all unobligated funds rescinded by the bill to be returned to the Treasury to reduce the deficit of the federal government, saving taxpayers $1 billion. This is a small but significant step in curbing our nation’s unsustainable spending habits, and I was glad that the amendment was agreed to by voice vote.
In addition to cutting spending to help grow the economy, it is important that we continue to support policies that help our small businesses, our true job creators, gain the confidence necessary to hire and expand.
This past week, I introduced the bipartisan bill H.R. 1082, the Small Business Capital Access and Job Preservation Act, to support the creation of new jobs and preserve existing ones. The bill would reduce government mandates and burdensome regulations on private equity firms implemented by the new Dodd-Frank law, and thereby promote increased access to capital for small businesses in the 5th District and across the country so more jobs can be created.
At a time when unemployment remains near 20 percent in some areas of the 5th District, this bill is one step towards removing barriers to job growth for Central and Southside Virginians and all Americans.
In order to get people back to work and put the 5th District and our nation on a sustainable economic track, it is critical that we continue to remove these kinds of onerous regulations that tie up capital, add uncertainty to the market place, and hinder our economic recovery.
If you need any additional information on these or any other issues, please visit my website at hurt.house.gov or call my Washington office: (202) 225-4711, Charlottesville office: (434) 973-9631, or Danville office: (434) 791-2596.
Sincerely,
Robert Hurt
P.S. – This week we announced the 2011 Congressional Art Competition, which is an opportunity to recognize and encourage the artistic talent in the nation, as well as in the 5th District. This Competition is open to all high school students in grades 9 – 12 who live in the 5th District. The overall winner of our district’s competition will be displayed for one year in the U.S. Capitol. Read more about the details HERE.
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