WITH 6.8 PERCENT UNEMPLOYMENT IN NEW HAMPSHIRE, SHAHEEN CALLS FOR TAX CREDIT FOR BUSINESSES THAT CREATE NEW JOBS

Washington, DC -With the U.S. nearly two years into the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression and 6.8 percent unemployment in New Hampshire, U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen, along with six Senate colleagues, today called for a tax credit for businesses that create new jobs. Ahead of Thursday's White House Job Summit, the Senators urged President Obama to propose a job creation tax credit as part of ongoing economic recovery efforts.

"Jobless Americans are desperate to get back to work, and job creation must be our top priority as we work to fix the economy," said Shaheen.  "A limited and very temporary tax credit for businesses that create jobs would be an effective way to jumpstart hiring in New Hampshire and across the country."

The full text of the letter sent to President Obama follows:

December 2, 2009

Dear Mr. President,

We commend your leadership in holding a White House conference to address the situation of the millions of Americans who are struggling to find employment.   Our nation is nearly two years into the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression, and while we have started to see the beginning of a turnaround as a result of the Recovery Act, unemployment now exceeds ten percent and continues to rise.   We must take additional, immediate steps to create jobs.  As you convene our nation's economic leaders to address the nation's growing unemployment, we write to urge you to include a jobs tax credit for businesses that create jobs in any package of proposals coming out of that conference.

When you took office you were handed the worst economic crisis in nearly 80 years.   The steps your Administration has taken to stimulate the economy have produced clear and marked improvement in our economic outlook.  The job market, however, is historically the last part of an economy to recover from a recession, and those who are least able to weather the effects of the downturn - the unemployed and their families - feel its effects the longest.  Establishing a temporary jobs tax credit would give businesses an incentive to accelerate hiring plans and put Americans back to work.

A jobs tax credit, with appropriate safeguards, should be part of the employment recovery efforts you propose.   It would address what is perhaps the most persistent and harmful aspect of the economic downturn, namely unemployment.   Such a measure not only is an efficient way to create a large number of jobs quickly, but also bolsters the broader economic recovery.  According to estimates done by the Economic Policy Institute, such a program could generate an economic return of over $2 per dollar of cost.  

With unemployment above ten percent you are right to put spurring employment at the top of our national agenda. A jobs tax credit provides an effective way to rapidly generate job growth, and we strongly encourage you to include a jobs tax credit as part of any package you propose to turn our economy around and put Americans back to work.

Sincerely,

Senator Jeanne Shaheen

Senator Kirsten Gillibrand

Senator Russ Feingold

Senator Bob Casey

Senator Carl Levin

Senator Joe Lieberman

Senator Debbie Stabenow