Washington, D.C. — Rep. Bob Etheridge, the only North Carolina-member of the House Ways and Means Committee, today voted to pass legislation to spur job creation and reinvigorate our economy.
H.R. 4849, the Small Business and Infrastructure Jobs Act, passed the House by a vote of 246-178 and invests in local rebuilding projects and a range of bipartisan proposals to help small businesses grow.
“Small businesses are the engine of our economy and right now they need help in order to grow, expand, and hire more workers,” Etheridge said. “Our economy has stabilized but it won’t truly begin growing again until these businesses have support to come back off the sidelines and start to hire again.”
The legislation will invest billions to encourage small business growth and extends the highly successful Build America Bonds program, which has helped finance local projects all over North Carolina’s Second District. The bonds are an effective tool for job creation and a vital resource for state and local governments seeking to invest in schools, sewers, hospitals and transit projects.
H.R. 4849 also extends the TANF Emergency Fund which states can use for a jobs program to subsidize employers, including small businesses, who hire unemployed workers. This Fund is currently on track to put more than 160,000 Americans back to work, with more to come.
The legislation will work along with the HIRE Act, a new law signed by the President earlier this month, which included an Etheridge proposal to provide a hiring tax credit for businesses that hire new workers or expand payroll.
“During this economic crisis, we’ve got to help our small businesses provide jobs for the American people,” Etheridge said. “As a former small business owner, I support this common sense legislation to create jobs on Main Street.”