This past week I hosted a jobs fair at University of Mary Washington’s Stafford Campus which attracted over 50 public and private employers and nearly 1,000 job seekers. I also had the opportunity to speak at the Spotsylvania Small Business Forum, which drew a number of local small business owners.
A number of vendors returned to participate after successfully hiring job seekers at my previous fair in September. They cited the great depth of experience and knowledge in our District’s workforce. We’re blessed to have a great deal of folks who have experience in the military or government and are looking for their next opportunity. One vendor noted that he attends eight job fairs a year, and this was one of two where he always finds great folks to hire. I’ll keep you posted in the coming weeks to let you know the successes our vendors and job seekers had at this past week’s fair.
Next, I was pleased to attend and speak at the Spotsylvania Small Business Forum. We should also be focusing on doing everything we can to support our small business owners, who account for 70% of the new jobs in the U.S. each year. They will be the creators of the jobs which will put Virginians back to work.
I’m working in Washington to reduce federal spending and grow opportunities for business to create jobs. Congress should work to restore fiscal responsibility, foster healthy credit markets and advance pro-growth and low tax policies. That’s why I voted for and the House passed H.R. 3854, the Small Business Financing and Investment Act this past year. This is an important step to getting capital flowing to small businesses. This legislation would enhance Small Business Administration capital access programs and provide critical funding for small firms in every industry.
With my support the House also passed and President Obama signed into law in November, H.R. 3548, the Worker, Homeownership, and Business Assistance Act. This extends the $8,000 homebuyer tax credit for first time homebuyers and provides a $6,500 tax credit for existing homeowners to buy a new house. We have seen how important this tax credit is to the housing market as it struggles to recover.
In the coming months and years it’s up to our government to get out of the way so that small businesses can succeed. I look forward to continuing to be a voice for small businesses on Capitol Hill. It’s through their existence that our neighbors find work, and the American dream continues to be realized.
Congressman Rob Wittman represents the First District of Virginia. He was elected to his first full term in November 2008 and serves on the Natural Resources Committee and the Armed Services Committee where he is the Ranking Member of the Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee.
