From day one, my top priority in Congress has been helping create jobs and opportunity for middle class New Hampshire families. Since taking office, I have traveled to every corner of the second district to hear from educators, entrepreneurs, workers, and families about how Congress can help create jobs and grow the economy. Their thoughts and ideas form the foundation of the Jobs and Opportunity Agenda, which outlines a series of common sense, bipartisan steps – ranging from doubling down on investments in innovation and job training, to streamlining government programs – that Congress can take to help small business owners and middle class families achieve their goals.

This plan takes ideas from all across New Hampshire’s second district and shapes them into a cohesive vision that can help to create jobs and grow the economy, both here in the Granite State and all across the country. From supporting small business to reducing the deficit in a balanced way, the Jobs and Opportunity Agenda touches on a wide range of issues. It includes proposals to increase investments in workforce development; protect access to affordable higher education; and provide tax credits to companies relocating to the United States, among many others. Please take a moment to read the full text of my Middle Class Jobs and Opportunity Agenda, which is available here.

Some highlights from my Middle Class Jobs and Opportunity Agenda are listed below:

My top priority in Congress is to help create jobs and opportunity for hard-working middle class New Hampshire families. While our nation’s small businesses drive job creation and economic growth, our government plays a critical role in fostering the conditions businesses need to grow, thrive, and create jobs. As a member of the Small Business Committee, I am actively working to support innovation and the expansion of economic opportunity in our country.

To help workers, entrepreneurs, and employers compete and succeed, I am taking the following actions:

• Promoting Exports: I introduced the Small Business Growth through Exports Act (H.R. 3115), legislation to extend and expand the State Trade and Export Promotion Program, which has helped dozens of Granite State companies expand their exports, create jobs, and grow New Hampshire’s economy. This program helps businesses attend international trade shows, supports export training programs, and assists with the development of international marketing materials, among other efforts to boost American exports. I also hosted an Exporter Forum to discuss strategies for boosting international sales.
• Encouraging Public-Private Partnerships: To bring people together to improve workforce readiness, I introduced the Workforce Development Investment Act (H.R. 1747), a bill that would provide tax incentives to businesses that partner with community colleges and other educational institutions to improve job training for students. Through this legislation tax credits would be made available to employers who collaborate with educational institutions to equip students with the skills they need to compete for well-paying jobs.
• Hearing from New Hampshire Leaders: I know the best ideas don’t come from Washington—they come from employers, educators, and other stakeholders hard at work in New Hampshire and communities across our country. That is why I launched my “Congress At Your Company” series to hear directly from businesses leaders about how the federal government can better support economic growth and job creation in the Granite State. I have also brought together employers, students, teachers, and others through a series of roundtables to discuss how to best prepare students and workers for the 21st Century economy.
• Bringing Together Employers and Job Seekers: To connect Granite Staters with businesses looking to grow and hire new workers, I hosted a Career and Opportunities Fair. This successful event attracted more than two dozen employers and professional groups, as well as nearly 300 job seekers.

• Improving Access to Capital: Along with colleagues on the Small Business Committee, I helped introduce the Small Business Investment Company Modernization Act (H.R. 1106). This bipartisan legislation would expand the SBIC program, an important tool that leverages private funding to increase investments in small businesses. This program has operated successfully since 1958 and operates at zero cost to taxpayers.
• Encouraging Research and Development: I know the future of New Hampshire’s economy depends on continued investments in cutting-edge research. That is why I am fighting to expand and make permanent the research and development tax credit, an essential tool that helps maintain our nation’s leadership in the global innovation economy.

• Investing in Infrastructure: Our roads, bridges, airports, electrical grid, and other components of our national infrastructure are the foundation on which our economy is built. For American businesses to expand and hire, we must repair and strengthen the shared infrastructure needed to transport goods, people, and power. That is why I am a cosponsor of the Partnership to Build America Act (H.R. 2084), bipartisan legislation to leverage private investments to fund an Infrastructure Bank for financing public works projects.

• Protecting the New Hampshire Advantage: Some in Washington are pushing legislation that would require Granite State businesses to collect and remit taxes on online sales on behalf of over 9,600 tax jurisdictions across the country. This mandate would burden our economy and harm job creation, which is why I am fighting against the so-called Marketplace Fairness Act, which would burden New Hampshire’s small businesses.