For months, Braley has pushed for tax credits for employers hiring veterans; House passes unanimously 

 

Washington, DC - Rep. Bruce Braley (IA-01) applauded the House passage this afternoon of the Returning Heroes and Wounded Warriors tax credits, which passed the House with a unanimous vote minutes ago.  These provisions would create new tax credit programs to spur the hiring of unemployed veterans and directly help hundreds of Iowa National Guard members who have returned home from overseas deployments. In August, Braley introduced the Combat Veterans Back to Work Act, a precursor to the tax credit programs that passed today.

"The best way to thank our veterans and tell them 'good job' is to help them find a good job when they return home," Braley said.  "I've been working for months to promote the idea of tax credits for businesses that hire returning veterans, and today's bipartisan vote shows that this issue has big support on both sides of the aisle.

 

"The tax credits passed by the House today will boost the hiring of veterans.  Other provisions will improve resources available for vets to translate their military skills into the civilian workforce and provide veterans with new tools to help them search for a job.  Unemployment among returning Iraq and Afghanistan veterans is three times the national average.  The bill passed today will help bring those numbers down."

 

Late this summer, 3,500 members of the Iowa National Guard returned from a deployment to Afghanistan.  More than 600 of these men and women reported being out of work when they returned home - equivalent to an unemployment rate of over 17 percent.  Iowa's unemployment rate in September was 6.0 percent; the national unemployment rate last month was 9.0 percent.

In response to high unemployment rates for veterans, in August, Braley introduced the Combat Veterans Back to Work Act, a bill that provides a payroll tax break for businesses who hire a current member of the National Guard or Reserve or any unemployed veteran who has returned from deployment within the last 18 months.

The Returning Heroes and Wounded Warriors tax credits build on Braley's bill, providing tax credits for employers that hire unemployed veterans and long-term unemployed veterans with service-connected disabilities.  The American Legion, Disabled American Veterans, Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, and the Veterans of Foreign Wars have all endorsed the bill.

Yesterday, Braley released a letter sent to Republican and Democratic House leaders urging them to allow the House to vote on the tax credits immediately.

The bill will now be sent to the President for his signature.

Braley is the highest ranking Democrat on the House Veterans Affairs Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity.

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WEST BRANCH, IOWA– West Branch, Iowa, the birthplace of Herbert Hoover, 31st President of the United States, will host "A Christmas Past" events from Friday, December 2 until Sunday, December 4. The festivities officially begin with the lighting of the tree in the Village Green at 6:00 p.m. on Friday, December 2.  The University of Iowa's Collegium Tubum will be playing holiday carols on their tubas during this ceremony. Main Street West Branch will feature brick fireplaces for roasting marshmallows, fresh-cooked doughnuts, and photos with Santa. Downtown shops will be open for business Friday and Saturday evenings, and the local churches will have a cookie walk, Christmas candy sale, and a soup supper. For more information call Main Street West Branch at (319) 643-7100 or visit www.mainstreetwestbranch.org for a complete schedule of events.

Horse-drawn wagon rides on Friday and Saturday evenings start at 5:30 p.m. from the Visitor Center of Herbert Hoover National Historic Site. The rides take visitors through the historic site and historic downtown West Branch. The last wagon rides begin at 8:00 p.m. The Visitor Center, Herbert Hoover Birthplace Cottage, and Blacksmith Shop will be open to visitors on Friday and Saturday nights until 9:00 p.m. From 5:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. items in the Visitor Center bookstore will on sale for 15 percent off. Park rangers and volunteers will lead craft activities at the Visitor Center from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. Activities include card-making for soldiers overseas as part of "Operation Gratitude" in partnership with the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum.  A park ranger will demonstrate the art and craft of blacksmithing in the Blacksmith Shop on Friday and Saturday nights from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

A traditional Quaker open worship will be held at the Friends Meetinghouse at Herbert Hoover National Historic Site at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, December 3, 2011. The historic meetinghouse where the Hoover family worshipped was built in 1857 and is one of several buildings preserved by the National Park Service as part of the park commemorating Herbert Hoover. Visitors are welcome to attend the worship meeting, which is similar to meetings young Herbert Hoover attended with his family. All activities at the historic site are free. For more information call Herbert Hoover National Historic Site at (319) 643-2541 or visit www.nps.gov/heho.

The Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum displays Christmas trees in its annual holiday exhibit. This year's holiday exhibit is "A Fairy Tale Christmas" featuring twenty trees each decorated to represent a different fairy tale. Special museum hours for "A Christmas Past" weekend are Friday and Saturday from 9:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. and Sunday from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Free admission begins Friday at 5:00 p.m. and continues throughout the weekend. Free weekend performances at the Presidential Library and Museum
include stage presentations by The Young Footliters, Christmas carols by the Uncalled Four quartet and the West Branch Community Chorus, and a readers' theater performance of Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol". The annual Holiday Open House is Sunday from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. with Santa Claus and free holiday refreshments served. For more information call the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum at (319) 643-5301 or visit www.hoover.archives.gov.

Herbert Hoover National Historic Site and the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum are in West Branch, Iowa at exit 254 off I-80. Both are open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Central Time. Parking is limited so please allow extra time to find a parking space.

ST. LOUIS (November 16, 2011) - Federal government figures show U.S. soy continues to be in strong demand among international customers.

Buyers outside of the United States purchased 1.5 billion bushels of whole U.S. soybeans in the latest marketing year, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.  That makes U.S. soy one of the largest agricultural exports.  And U.S. agriculture continues to lead all economic sectors with a positive balance of trade.

"Increasing demand for U.S. soy abroad has been the cornerstone of the soybean-checkoff-funded marketing efforts for the past 20 years," says Jim Call, a soybean farmer from Madison, Minn. Call also chairs the United Soybean Board (USB) International Marketing program. "We focus not just on China, but on increasing sales in other international markets, as well."

"The soybean checkoff helps fund market-building activities like hosting international buying teams and conducting poultry and livestock feeding demonstrations abroad that prove the advantages of using U.S. soy," Call says.

Additional key soybean export figures for the 2010/2011 marketing year:

• U.S. soybean farmers helped export over 1.5 billion bushels of whole soybeans.
• Soybean meal from over 332 million bushels of soybeans was exported.
• Oil from approximately 290 million bushels of soybeans went to foreign customers.

Soy users in China weighed in as the top international customers of whole U.S. soybeans buying 895 million bushels, up from 825 million bushels during the 2010/2011 marketing year.  Other top importing markets for whole U.S. soybeans in the last marketing year include the following:

• Mexico - 124.3 million bushels
• Japan - 75.2 million bushels
• Indonesia - 71.03 million bushels
• Taiwan - 55.9 million bushels
• Germany - 36.3 million bushels
• Spain - 28.6 million bushels
• Egypt - 27.8 million bushels
• South Korea - 26.3 million bushels
• Thailand - 18.6 million bushels

The soybean checkoff funds international marketing efforts in more than 80 countries worldwide. These include market development, communications and education.

USB is made up of 69 farmer-directors who oversee the investments of the soybean checkoff on behalf of all U.S. soybean farmers. Checkoff funds are invested in the areas of animal utilization, human utilization, industrial utilization, industry relations, market access and supply. As stipulated in the Soybean Promotion, Research and Consumer Information Act, USDA's Agricultural Marketing Service has oversight responsibilities for USB and the soybean checkoff.

For more information on the United Soybean Board, visit www.unitedsoybean.org
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Senators Barrasso, Hatch, Snowe Introduce Bill to Repeal HIT

 

WASHINGTON, D.C., November 16, 2011 – United States Senators John Barrasso (R-WY), Orrin Hatch (R-UT), and Olympia Snowe (R-ME) today introduced legislation, The Jobs and Premium Protection Act, to repeal the onerous Health Insurance Tax (HIT) which takes $87 billion away from small business by the end of the decade, resulting in a job-loss of 125,000 to 249,000 jobs in the private sector in 2021, according to a study released by the National Federation of Independent Business Research Foundation; small business will shoulder 59 percent of this job-loss burden.

"The Health Insurance Tax is a Washington policy that will have a devastating impact on our nation's job creators," said Susan Eckerly, Senior Vice President of Public Policy. "The stark reality is that the country's economy is still reeling, and every single job matters; the last thing people in the unemployment line want to hear is that one less job will be created and even more will be shed as a result of the HIT.  Because of the leadership of Senators Barrasso, Hatch and Snowe, small-business owners now have bipartisan and bicameral legislation that will repeal this tax and protect their ability to continue to create vital jobs."

"Our legislation repeals this unfair, hidden tax on America's job creators, and will save thousands of jobs across the country," said United States Senator John Barrasso.  "This tax is just another example of how the President's trillion dollar health spending law is only making things worse for small businesses and their workers. With 9 percent unemployment, hardworking Americans cannot afford to be hit hard by even higher premiums.  We need to stop the HIT on our economy now - before it starts."

"Chock full of tax hikes, mandates and government overreach, the President's $2.6 trillion health spending law is an anchor around our economy's neck," said United States Senator Orrin Hatch.  "The health law's insurance tax is especially damaging, undercutting our economic recovery by increasing the cost of health coverage.  Money that could go to higher wages, new workers, or investment will instead go to pay this new tax.  With insurance premiums already skyrocketing and unemployment hovering at 9 percent, this tax makes no sense.  The President is demanding jobs legislation; he should start by supporting the repeal of this tax."

"Preventing the new health insurance tax is critical, especially in the current economic environment," said United States Senator Olympia J. Snowe.  "As the cost of health insurance continues to rise unabated - another 9 percent on average this year - individuals and small businesses are struggling to afford coverage.  Meanwhile, the Democrats' health care law is set to impose this $60 billion tax and the Director of the Congressional Budget Office has confirmed this tax will be paid by the individuals and small businesses who buy health insurance.  This tax could increase the cost of health insurance by 15 percent for small businesses, and kill hundreds of thousands of jobs.  I am proud to be a sponsor of the Premium Protection Act, and remain committed to repealing the job-killing health care law, as well as to repealing its worst pieces."

The Health Insurance Tax, which goes into effect in 2014, will cost small-business owners, their employees and the self-employed, $87 billion in the first ten years and $208 billion in the following ten years; the tax impacts 2 million small businesses, 12 million employees and the self-employed who purchase in the individual market and 26 million employees who are covered by their employer, resulting in a cost of nearly $5,000 per family over a decade.

The NFIB Research Foundation's BSIM (Business Size Impact Module) model suggests that such a price increase will reduce private sector employment by 125,000 to 249,000 jobs in 2021, with 59 percent of those losses falling on small business. The BSIM is a dynamic, multi-region forecasting model that analyzes the impact of policy "shocks" on the economy.  The BSIM is unique in ability among models to forecast the economic impact of policy on U.S. businesses differentiated by the size of the firm; in this case, small business is defined as those firms with less than 500 employees (Small Business Association definition).

Representative Charles Boustany (R-LA) has introduced legislation in the House, HR 1370, to repeal the Health Insurance Tax and his legislation currently has 78 bipartisan cosponsors, leading the way for a bicameral and bipartisan repeal of the Health Insurance Tax.

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