CONTRIBUTE

Springfield, PA, July 29 – Representative Bryan Lentz, the Democratic nominee in Pennsylvania’s 7th Congressional District, today expressed his support for the Investing in American Jobs and Closing Tax Loopholes Act that was expected to be voted on by the House of Representatives later this afternoon. The bill included key provisions that could benefit some of the 7th district’s most important sources of jobs.

One of the bill’s key measures called for the closing of a tax loophole that encourages American companies to ship jobs overseas. The bill also called for the continuation of Build America Bonds, a government program that subsidizes the cost of borrowing money for state and local governments seeking to finance infrastructure projects, a program that TIME Magazine has called "one of the economic recovery efforts biggest successes."

 “This legislation will have many positive impacts on our local economy,” Lentz said. “It will make sure that local manufacturers don’t have incentives to ship their factories overseas and that municipalities across the district like Upper Darby, Conshohocken and Boothwynn can finance improvements to important infrastructure systems like sewer and water that create good paying jobs today and lay the foundation for future job growth tomorrow.”

Earlier this week, Lentz launched a 25-stop, 10-week economic tour to highlight his economic recovery plan, which calls for increased spending on infrastructure and providing companies incentives to invest and expand, and to gain input from business leaders in the 7^th district. The second stop of his tour will be this Saturday at 3 p.m., at a town hall forum on the economy in Conshohocken.

Lentz has repeatedly called for the closing of the corporate tax loophole that encourages companies to relocate their factories overseas. At the same time, his opponent, Pat Meehan, opposes ending the tax loophole that benefits companies that send jobs overseas.

“Why doesn’t Pat Meehan support ending a tax break that sends American jobs overseas?” Lentz said.

Lentz also pointed to the benefits of the Build America Bonds program in today’s legislation, which subsidizes borrowing costs for state and local governments that are financing infrastructure projects, including hospitals and schools, and improvements to transit, water and sewer systems.  These bonds have helped finance $115 billion in infrastructure projects and supported 2 million jobs nationwide, while saving state and local governments $12 billion in borrowing costs in 2009 alone.

“The health care industry and education are some of the largest providers of jobs in the 7th District,” Lentz said. “This legislation makes it easier for our local municipalities to invest in those areas.”