Braley Statement on President's Jobs Address
Washington, DC - Rep. Bruce Braley (IA-01) released the following statement tonight after President Obama addressed a joint session of Congress on job creation:
"I hope tonight's speech helps refocus the debate in Washington right where it needs to be: on creating jobs and growing the economy.
"Ideas like extending the payroll tax cut for middle class families and investments in roads and highways should attract support from Republicans and Democrats.
"I'm proud that tonight, Jan Heister of Peosta, Iowa and owner of Premier Tool, joined First Lady Michelle Obama during the speech. In February 2010, I introduced the Back to Work Act, which provides tax incentives to businesses to hire unemployed workers and my provisions passed into law in March 2010. Since that time, over 100,000 Iowans were hired using this tax incentive, and some of these workers were hired at Jan's company, Premier Tool. I visited Premier Tool in January 2011 and I was so proud to talk to Jan and some of the workers hired through my Back to Work Act. I'm glad the President has also recognized the good work done at Premier Tool, and invited Jan to attend tonight.
"Focusing on strengthening the middle class - what makes America great - is exactly what we need to be doing to get our economy back on track. Now, it's time Congress gets to work on these ideas so Iowans can get back to work."
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Braley's Protecting Veterans' Homes Act Moves Forward in House
Washington, DC - Today, the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs unanimously passed Congressman Bruce Braley's bill, the Protecting Veterans' Homes Act. This legislation would protect veterans from being foreclosed upon by banks and would give returning soldiers time to get their finances in order after long deployments. It passed unanimously as part of a larger legislative package and will now likely proceed to the House Floor.
"Our veterans often return from combat only to face new challenges," said Rep. Braley. "Whether it's an injury or a financial crisis caused by long deployments and time off from their civilian jobs, our veterans deserve to know that we're standing up for them. This bill will give our soldiers enough time to get back on their feet and get their finances in order before being kicked out of their homes. This is the least we can do for the brave men and women who serve this country."
Currently, similar protections for veterans are set to expire in December, 2012. Rep. Braley's bill would make these protections permanent and would extend the grace period from nine months to a full year for veterans returning from deployments.
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Braley: Jobs Plan Should Focus on Boosting Iowa's "Struggling Middle Class"
Washington, DC - Rep. Bruce Braley (IA-01) released the following statement today before the president's address to a joint session of Congress:
"Creating jobs and growing the economy should be Congress' number one priority, but it sure hasn't been lately. That's why Iowans are so frustrated with Washington right now. All they see is partisan gridlock and nothing getting done on jobs.
"That's why I hope the president uses tonight as an opportunity to refocus on job creation. I hope his job creation plan makes helping the struggling middle class a centerpiece.
"We need to act now on ideas like extending the payroll tax cut for middle-class families, providing incentives for the hiring of veterans and Iowa Guard members, and investing in our aging roads, highways, and infrastructure. Then we need to pay for them. These proven job creators are ideas that I expect would attract bipartisan support."
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