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Straight Talk: Health Care Vote Sunday, FCC Broadband Plan, New IRS Resources and More

Washington, D.C., March 19, 2010
 Friends:

This weekend, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi intends to force passage of her government takeover of health care, despite the fact that the American people have expressed widespread opposition to the legislation and process.

Earlier this week, I joined more than 120 of my Republican colleagues in speaking out against the Majority’s health care bill on the House floor.   House Small Business Committee Republicans Rep. Glenn Thompson (R-PA), Rep Mike Coffman (R-CO), Rep. Todd Akin (R-MO), Rep. Aaron Schock (R-IL), Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX), Rep. Roscoe Bartlett (R-MD), Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer (R-MO), Rep. Steve King (R-IA), Rep. Lynn A. Westmoreland (R-GA) each delivered floor speeches in opposition to the job-killing legislation.  

I encourage you to click here to watch the speeches and learn more about why this legislation is not the right way forward for health care reform.



Sam Graves


News from the Small Business Committee:
(Please send any Member media activity to Alexandra.Haynes@mail.house.gov)

• Ranking Member Graves and Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer (R-MO) joined together to secure a federal waiver that ensures a timely delivery of farm supplies for the 2010 planting season. Read more here. 

• Rep. Luetkemeyer also wrote a column about the House passage of his legislation to improve the SBA’s entrepreneurial development programs.

• Rep. Roscoe Bartlett (R-MD) announced he will hold a “GO Green Energy Conference” designed to help homeowners, farmers and small business owners discover practical ways to save money and use less energy.  The conference is scheduled for June 7, 2010.

• Rep. Aaron Schock (R-IL) had an op-ed published in The Daily Caller titled, “Free Trade Equals Free Jobs.”

• Rep. Todd Akin (R-MO) released a statement condemning House Democrats Strong-Arm Health Care Tactics.

• Rep. Steve King (R-IA) issued a statement called “Scrap the Monstrosity, Work on Stand-Alone Bills” in response to the upcoming health care vote.

• Rep. Lynn A. Westmoreland (R-GA) says “Health Care Bill Full of Hidden Surprises.”

• Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-FL) has a new YouTube video discussing his opposition to the Democrats’ Health Care Bill.

 

 

House Small Business Committee Action:

• On Wednesday, March 17th, the House Small Business Committee held a hearing entitled, “Business Incubators and Their Role in Job Creation.”  Read more about the hearing and what was discussed by clicking here.

• On Wednesday, March 24th, the House Small Business Committee plans to hold a hearing entitled, “Small Business Participation in the Federal Procurement Marketplace.”


Updates from Washington:
(Please send any Member initiatives related to small business and job creation to Paul.Sass@mail.house.gov)

• On Tuesday the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) released the full text of its long-awaited National Broadband Plan.  The plan provides policy recommendations on a variety of issues related to universal broadband deployment.  Increased broadband access creates opportunities for small business nationwide.  You can read more about the plan on the official website, www.broadband.gov.  

• On Wednesday, the Small Business and Infrastructure Jobs Tax Act passed the House Ways and Means Committee.  The ill-conceived legislation, which raises taxes on many employers in an already difficult economy, could come before the full House next week. There is some speculation that it may be considered as early as this Saturday. Read Ways and Means Ranking Member Dave Camp’s (R-MI) opening statement on the legislation by clicking here.     

• On Thursday, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) released its preliminary analysis of the Democrats’ health care legislation, which is expected to come to the House floor on Sunday.  The estimated cost of the legislation is $940 billion over a ten-year period and includes roughly $155 billion in tax increases.  You can read highlights of the analysis by clicking here.

• On Thursday, President Obama signed into law the $17.6 billion “jobs” bill.  Rep. Mike Pence, Chairman of the House Republican Conference, labeled the bill the “Latest Deficit Spending Bill”  for its unsustainable deficit spending and disingenuous tax cuts.

• Rep. Rodney Frelinghuysen (R-NJ) introduced H.Res. 987, a resolution recognizing the role that reduced trade barriers to the United States could have in promoting economic development, creating jobs, and solidifying relations with trading partners. This resolution expresses the sense of the House of Representatives that the United States-Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement, the United States-Panama Free Trade Agreement, and the United States-Korea Free Trade Agreement should be implemented immediately. To cosponsor H.Res. 987, please contact Daniel.ostermueller@mail.house.gov


News and Resources for Small Business Owners:

• The IRS recently expanded its efforts to help people who are having difficulty with their taxes due to unemployment or other matters.  The new measures include additional flexibility with compromise offers, Saturday open houses to resolve issues, and a special Tax Center website on IRS.gov.  To learn more, click here.

• The Heritage Foundation published “Obamacare: It's Not Getting Better.”

• The NFIB released the “Small Business Economic Trends for March.”

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