Henry County 9-12 Project

Yesterday, the House of Representatives rejected the Senate amendment to H.R. 3630, the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act, and requested a meeting with the Senate to work out a compromise.. The Senate’s amendment to the legislation only extended the tax relief through February, setting up yet another showdown on this issue in the coming months. Since the passage of the Senate’s amendment, business groups across the country have come out in opposition to it, including the Small Business & Entrepreneurship Council and the National Association of Wholesalers-Distributors. In addition, the National Payroll Reporting Consortium, expressing concerns that the Senate’s plan could not be properly implemented, said that it “could create substantial problems, confusion and costs affecting a significant percentage of U.S. employers and employees.” I joined my Republican colleagues in the House to oppose this irresponsible bill and called on the Senate to return from its vacation to work with the House to pass a one-year extension of the payroll tax cut before the end of the year.

Last week, the House passed a comprehensive bill that would among other things, extend the payroll tax cut for middle class Americans through 2012. It was a bill that garnered bipartisan support in the House and was sent to the Senate with the hope that they would act responsibly and pass the bill. Instead, Senate Democrats amended it to include a short-term, two month extension of the tax cut – essentially kicking the can down the road to February. This is absolutely unacceptable and an incredibly irresponsible way to set tax policy. These short-term fixes and the mentality of ‘I’ll think about that later’ only create more uncertainty in our markets and our economy. The American people deserve better from us. The Senate needs to return to Washington, as the U.S. House has done, and get back to work so we can come to a responsible agreement.

To see more reaction from the other members of the Georgia delegation, click here.

Yesterday, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 2056, legislation sponsored by Congressman Lynn Westmoreland (GA-03) and Senator Saxby Chambliss (GA), and sent it to President Obama for his signature. The legislation will conduct studies looking into potential causes for the high number of bank failures across the United States. Georgia leads the nation in bank failures, with more than 73 failed banks since 2008.

When I ask federal regulators why so many banks in Georgia and across the country have failed and continue to fail, I’m given dozens of different excuses, but no real solutions to stopping this epidemic. Community banks are the economic engine of our towns and cities, and the large number of failed banks in Georgia can have a devastating effect on our economic recovery. Without these local lenders, job growth and economic investment can dry up – an unmistakable reality proven by the fact that the ten states with the highest number of failures also have some of the highest unemployment and foreclosure rates in the country. Hopefully, this legislation can lead to answers to not only what’s behind these bank failures but also answers to how we can make sure this doesn’t happen again in the future.