My Letter to Congress: H.R.1826 Fair Elections Now Act

I am writing as your constituent in the 12th Congressional district of Florida. I am writing as your constituent in the 12th Congressional district of Florida. I support H.R.1826 - Fair Elections Now Act, and am tracking it using OpenCongress.org, the free public resource website for government transparency and accountability.

Sincerely,
LEROY HIGGINS

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Dear Mr. Higgins,



Since my first day in office, I have been contacted by you and
thousands of other Floridians demanding action to improve our weak
economy and alleviate its effects on unemployment. I have repeatedly
said I will work with anyone, regardless of party affiliation, who is
willing to propose a serious and effective plan for job creation. This
is why I have introduced the American Growth, Recovery, Empowerment and
Entrepreneurship Act (AGREE Act) with Democratic Senator Chris Coons of
Delaware to address our nation's unemployment problem.



According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), our nation's
unemployment rate is at 9 percent, which means we have nearly 14
million unemployed people residing in the United States. Currently,
Florida's unemployment rate is just below 11 percent. Jobs will only be
created when job creators feel confident in the economic climate. We
must encourage America's small businesses to expand and incentivize
foreign investment in the private sector to get our economy back on its
feet.



The AGREE Act puts politics aside and proposes real job-creating
measures. The main provisions of the AGREE Act address tax policy for
small businesses, high-tech research and development, and help promote
opportunities for our veterans.



The AGREE Act is a bipartisan package that would help resolve some of
the more basic problems we are currently facing in regard to job
creation. Our state is home to hundreds of thousands of small
businesses, which account for almost 45 percent of Florida's
private-sector employment. Major sectors include construction, retail,
scientific research and development, and health care. In order for
these small businesses to expand, we must reduce burdens that impede
job creation, as well as include the extension of noncontroversial tax
relief. In particular, the AGREE Act includes the following tax relief
provisions:

-Extending bonus depreciation through 2014, allowing companies to write
off the full cost of new capital assets placed into service that year;

-Maintaining current expensing rules for small businesses; and

-Eliminating capital gains taxes for certain small business stock
through 2014.



In order to attract high-tech job growth in the state of Florida, we
must modernize the research and development (R&D) tax credit. Florida
is home to over 25,000 technology based companies including IBM,
Motorola, and Electronic Arts. As a state, Florida employs nearly
250,000 people in aerospace, financial services, medical technologies,
and microelectronics. The AGREE Act would implement measures that
encourage investment, specifically for Florida based businesses by:

-Extending the traditional R&D tax credit until 2013;

-Establishing a Domestic Manufacturing R&D tax credit for businesses
that create jobs in the United States; and

-Increasing the alternative simplified tax credit and making it
permanent.



Our state of Florida is home to the second highest population of
veterans in the United States at over 1.6 million. According to BLS,
unemployment among veterans who left the service after 2001 is over 12
percent, compared with 9 percent overall nationally. The unemployment
rate among veterans is unacceptable and we must do more for those who
have served our country. To help do this, the AGREE Act incorporates a
25 percent tax credit for veterans to go towards qualified fees to
offset the high cost of opening a franchise, up to $100,000.



When a business decides to sell stock of their company to the public
for the first time, it is called an initial public offering. Public
offerings are an important component to job creation and Florida is
home to many growing companies and small businesses that wish to go
public, including banks, airlines, and members of the cruise industry.
Currently, companies going public are required to complete an external
audit of internal reporting controls which has proven to be a lengthy
and burdensome process, and has stunted growth in the private sector.
The AGREE Act would help relieve some of this burden by:

-Providing an exemption from the required audit for companies with
total revenues below $250 million or the first five years of a company
going public; and

-Directing the Securities and Exchange Commission to conduct a study
and report to Congress on the compliance costs of conducting the audit,
and subsequently determine the ways the SEC could reduce such burdens.



In order to remain competitive in the global economic marketplace, the
United States must attract the most talented, highly skilled
individuals to contribute to our economic growth and help create
desperately needed jobs. Our broken immigration laws establish
arbitrary per-country caps limiting the number of family sponsored and
employment based visas for natives of any single country. Any country,
regardless of its size or visa demand, is limited to just 7 percent of
the total available visas in any given fiscal year. These backlogs do
not just gum up our nation's legal immigration system; they separate
family members from their loved ones and put our nation's employers at
a competitive disadvantage by preventing them from hiring the most
talented individuals, especially in high tech industries. The AGREE Act
would help address the problems posed by these backlogs by eliminating
the per-country caps for employment based visas and would raise the
per-country limits on family based visas from 7 percent to 15 percent.
This bill does not increase the total amount of visas available in a
given year, nor does it increase the amount of people who will be able
to immigrate to the United States. This bill does reallocate the visas
that the US currently makes available in a way that better serves our
national interest.



I encourage you to visit http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w82vPBxW4fw
where you can hear me personally explain the AGREE Act and what it aims
to do for Florida and for our nation.



The AGREE Act is a vital first step in resolving the high unemployment
rate of our nation and Florida, and addresses some of the burdens
placed on our nation's businesses. I am hopeful these initial solutions
will set the tone for a bipartisan atmosphere to help encourage job
creation, and I look forward to working with members of both parties to
continue moving toward economic prosperity. I thank you for your input,
and hope you will join me and Senator Coons in supporting the American
Growth, Recovery, Empowerment and Entrepreneurship Act.