Jobs and the Economy
Several years since the economic crisis of 2008, Colorado families and small businesses are still struggling to regain their footing. Now more than ever, job number one for government must be building a more robust economy. We all know that the private sector needs to drive job growth, but government should do everything in its power to create the kind of environment that allows businesses to expand. As your senator, my primary goal is to do everything I can to put the right policies in place to ensure Coloradans have the tools they need to succeed. From my perspective, there are three things the Congress should focus on to help Colorado – and the country – win the global economic race: encouraging innovation, fiscal discipline and reform from within.
I believe that answers to how we can win the global economic race can be found among the many success stories in Colorado. When I came to the Senate in 2009, I immediately launched my Colorado Workforce Tour, in which I travel the state to speak with workers, learn from their experiences and take their good ideas back to Washington.
One consistent theme I continue to hear in touring our state is that small business owners are still finding it hard to access the capital they need to purchase inventory, expand their businesses and hire more workers. To help address this problem, I introduced the Small Business Lending Enhancement Act (S. 509). This bill, which has strong bipartisan support, will free up more than $10 billion in small business lending within its first year of enactment, translating to well over 100,000 new jobs. Simply by getting government out of the way and responsibly easing up on an arbitrary cap on the amount of small business loans that our nation’s credit unions are allowed to make, we can help small business employers expand – all without costing taxpayers a dime. This bill has been endorsed by the National Small Business Association and the National Association of Manufacturers, among others, as well as the credit unions’ independent federal regulator, the National Credit Union Administration.
Another focus during my stops on the Colorado Workforce Tour is on that hallmark of American business: innovation. While there is no question that Coloradans are hurting as a result of global economic conditions, our state's economy is stronger than many others, thanks in part to our diverse, high-tech, innovative and entrepreneurial workforce.
Our strengths in fields like bioscience, aerospace, clean technology and information technology have translated directly into good-paying jobs for Coloradans and business investment in the state.
For example, Colorado's clean-technology sector – those businesses focusing on renewable energy technologies and technologies that help conserve energy – is growing rapidly: they’ve put 33 percent more people to work over the past five years. Colorado’s aerospace economy is one of the top three in the country, employing almost 20,000 Coloradans with good-paying jobs. And Colorado is home to an impressive array of bioscience research institutions and over 400 bioscience companies fostering entrepreneurial activity and biomedical breakthroughs.
We have to encourage this type of groundbreaking work to continue. Supporting innovation means creating the right conditions for American entrepreneurship and job creation, and allowing Americans to reach their full potential. From a federal perspective, Congress can spur more growth by restructuring the tax code to make it simpler and more supportive of innovation.
For more information about where I stand on these topics and what I'm working on, see the Taxes, Fiscal Responsibility and Bridging the Partisan Divide sections of my website.
We also must encourage people with great innovative ideas, no matter where they were born, to develop those ideas right here in America. To that end, I joined with senators John Kerry and Richard Lugar to introduce the StartUp Visa Act (S. 565). This bipartisan bill, which the U.S. Chamber of Commerce has strongly endorsed, will help create U.S. jobs by encouraging foreign entrepreneurs – specifically, foreign-born graduates of U.S. universities and lawful immigrants already in the country as professional H-1B workers – to start businesses in the United States.
Among other things, supporting innovation also means investing in science and technology to keep Colorado and the nation on the cutting edge. It also means training the next generation for the jobs of the future. A well-educated workforce with the skills necessary to innovate and lead is the greatest asset we can have and will be the foundation for American success in the future.
For more information about where I stand on science, technology and education - especially the critical “STEM” fields - and what I'm working on, see the Science and Technology and Education sections of my website.
Yet until we get our federal budget under control and get a handle on our structural deficits and long-term debt, both the private and public funding needed to invest in our future will always be in doubt. I believe that one of the most productive ways Congress can help spur economic growth is by demanding good government initiatives and implementing a responsible, comprehensive plan for fiscal reform.
For more information, I invite you to visit my Fiscal Responsibility page to find out about my efforts to address our growing national debt.
As we continue down the path of economic recovery, I’ll keep working with my colleagues - in both parties - to ensure the government is fighting for Colorado families and small businesses - not Wall Street special interests. Now is a time when we must put partisanship and other differences behind us and work for the good of all Americans.
Press Coverage Regarding Senator Udall's Work on Jobs:
- Visa reforms could draw intellectual capital to U.S.
Editorial, The Denver Post - Summer jobs for ski bums?
Editorial, The Denver Post
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American Energy and Job Promotion Act
Colorado is positioned to lead the country in renewable energy. That's why I joined a bipartisan group of colleagues in introducing the American Energy and Job Promotion Act. This bill will extend several key renewable energy tax credits, like the production tax credit for wind, biomass, geothermal, hydropower, and other renewables. This measure, and others that I have supported, could help Americans reduce their energy costs at home and at the pump. Clean energy has great potential in Colorado and the U.S. to create new jobs and help us win the global energy race - but this will not happen without support from the federal government.
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Protecting our Outdoor Heritage
I am in the midst of a collaborative, community-driven process that I hope will ultimately allow Colorado to create legislation for wilderness and national monument designations in two very special places in our state – the Central Mountains (236,000 acres Summit, Eagle, and Pitkin counties) and Browns Canyon on the Arkansas River (20,000 acres in Chaffee County). By hearing your comments from the outset, I hope to develop a plan that a majority of the community agrees will support their interests and further develop Colorado’s booming recreation economy. If we do it in the right way — with a bottom-up rather than top-down approach — protecting public lands will support jobs, our economy, and the quality of life that makes Colorado the envy of the world. In order to facilitate the conversation with these communities, I've developed draft maps of possible wilderness boundaries, which will give us a firm base to compare notes and ideas. All of the maps are online at http://markudall.senate.gov/outdoorheritage, along with an e-mail comment form. I encourage you to share your thoughts about the maps, how the land is used today and your vision for the future of these special places.
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Supporting Incentives to Spur U.S. Renewable Energy Development
Renewable energy is a crucial element of Colorado's and America’s economic and energy future, supporting thousands of jobs while protecting the environment. I joined 33 of my colleagues in sending a letter to key Senate leaders emphasizing the importance of key renewable energy programs like the Production Tax Credit and Section 1603, because I want to ensure that the tremendous growth in this field over the past decade continues into the next one. These incentives are critical to help companies leverage private investment to create good-paying jobs in Colorado. That’s why I also signed a bipartisan letter supporting the extension of tax credits for wind energy production beyond 2012, which helps give the industry certainty for sustained growth. I will keep working on policies to spur a robust and competitive clean energy industry in the United States.
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Renewable Energy Production Tax Credits
Renewable energy is a crucial element of Colorado and America’s economic and energy future, supporting thousands of jobs while reducing impacts on the environment. I want to ensure that the tremendous growth in this field over the last decade continues into the next one. That is why I support extending key renewable energy tax credits, like the Production Tax Credit and Section 1603, to help to give the industry the certainty it needs for sustained growth that will create good, long-term jobs. These incentives are critical to help companies leverage private investment to create good-paying jobs in Colorado. I recently joined with several other Senators in sending letters to Senate leadership emphasizing the importance of these tax credits.
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Ski Area Recreational Opportunity Enhancement Act
Colorado's mountain communities won a small but important victory on Nov. 7, 2011, when the president signed into law my Ski Area Recreational Opportunity Enhancement Act. After five years of work, I was thrilled that we were able to move it through the U.S. House of Representatives and a gridlocked U.S. Senate and get it to the president's desk. The act revises the 1986 law governing the permitting of ski areas on National Forests, clarifying that the U.S. Forest Service is authorized to permit year-round recreational activities where appropriate. It will boost year-round activity in ski communities, provide more opportunities for outdoor recreation in Colorado, create jobs and aid local economies.