Political Quotes

“Madam Speaker, I want to talk about a program that is set to expire at the end of the year if Congress does not act, and it's the New Markets Tax Credit program. I have fought for this program since its enactment in 2000 because it's a cost-effective way to create jobs and drive investment in communities with high rates of poverty and unemployment. I've seen the amazing results of this initiative first hand back home in Massachusetts, and today I want to highlight one of those Massachusetts projects, the Colonial Theater in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. Let me tell you a little about the New Markets Tax Credit. The program was designed to stimulate investment and economic growth in low-income communities that are traditionally overlooked by conventional capital markets. The New Markets Tax Credit program attracts capital to low-income communities by providing private investors with a 39 percent Federal tax credit for investments made in businesses or economic development projects located in certain areas where the individual poverty rate is at least 20 percent or where median family income is low. According to the Government Accountability Office, 88 percent of the New Markets Tax Credit investors said they would not have made the investment in a low-income community without New Markets Tax Credits. Every project or business financed by New Markets Tax Credits is located in a low-income community and/or benefits low-income individuals.…”