Summer employment is critical to the success of young people, good for business, and important for our country. But today’s youth are struggling to get the work experience they need for the jobs of the future. Just 48.8 percent of youth between the ages of 16-24 were employed last July - the month when youth employment usually peaks. This is significantly lower than the 59.2 percent of youth who were employed five years ago and 63.3 percent of youth who were employed 10 years ago. The Summer Jobs+ initiative has 90,000 paid jobs and thousands more mentoring programs, internships and other trai... Read More »
Students, you're invited to meet representatives of America's Military Academies at Georgia's 2012 Academy Day on Saturday, May 12. You MUST register by 5:00 pm on April 30, 2012 online at http://isakson.senate.gov/contactsad.cfm or by calling Nancy Brooks at 770.661.0999. Applicants may also contact Congressman David Scott's District Office at 770-210-5073 for more information on how to obtain an appointment to a military academy. Read More »
On April 5, the President signed the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act (H.R. 3606) into law (P.L. 112-106). The "JOBS Act" will allow small businesses and start-up enterprises to raise capital from investors more efficiently. Congressman Scott voted for this bi-partisan bill and similar bills which were first considered in one of his committees - the Financial Services Committee. The JOBS Act will help growing businesses access financing in several ways: • Allowing Small Businesses to Harness “Crowdfunding”: startups and small businesses will be allowed to raise up to $1 million annually fro... Read More »
Many seniors in high school are counting the days until they can graduate and start college. However, their parents may be dreading the coming expenses for tuition. The cost of college tuition is increasing faster than the rate of inflation and a lot of families do not want to rack up huge student loan debts. Grants and loans are available to many students. Yet, that assistance may not fully cover education expenses. To help, there are several savings programs and tax breaks to help pay for school. You can start a "529" college savings plan for as little as $25. Interest earned in the plans gr... Read More »
Congress passed H.R. 3630, the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act. This bipartisan agreement extends the payroll tax cut for 160 million Americans; continues unemployment benefits for the millions of Americans who lost their jobs; and ensures seniors can continue to see the doctor of their choice under Medicare. President Obama signed H.R. 3630 into law on February 22. Major provisions of The Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act: Payroll Tax Cut - Extends the payroll tax cut for the remainder of 2012. Increases by $1,000 the annual take-home pay of a typical middle-class fami... Read More »
Federal and state governments recently settled a major agreement with the country’s five largest mortgage servicers: Ally/GMAC, Bank of America, Citi, JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo. Over the next three years, the settlement funds will be used for: principal reduction and loan modifications - up to $17 billion in direct relief; refinancing at lower interest rates - up to $3 billion in direct relief; and relief to about 750,000 borrowers who lost their home to foreclosure - $1.5 billion. Georgia had the fourth highest foreclosure rate in the U.S. last year and its share of the settlement would ... Read More »
Update: The Wall Street Journal has a good article about accessing government grants for small business contractors. Read the article at this link. This week, Congressman Scott recognized the importance of small businesses in creating jobs and rebuilding America's economy: "Small businesses created two-thirds of the new jobs over the last 15 years," Congressman Scott said. "As a small business owner, I understand the daily challenges facing these job creators. That is why I am committed to helping entrepreneurs succeed." For information about starting a small business, please visit the Small B... Read More »
The Congressional Management Foundation (CMF) has recognized Rep. Scott's website for winning a 112th Congress Bronze Mouse Award. He is the only Member of the Georgia Delegation to have his website be recognized. CMF created the awards in 2001 to recognize and honor the best use of online communications in Congress. The award is part of CMF's latest report -- "112th Congress Gold Mouse Awards: Best Practices in Online Communications on Capitol Hill." "Rep. Scott is to be commended for educating citizens and achieving the highest degree of transparency and accountability in online communicatio... Read More »
This week the House Committee on Agriculture held a hearing to investigate the loss of $1.2 billion of investor funds by MF Global. The Committee has jurisdiction over the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), which regulated MF Global. Congressman Scott participated in the hearings and asked questions of former CEO Jon Corzine. There are obviously many unanswered questions regarding the collapse of MF Global. Chief among them of course is what happened to the customer funds that have disappeared. Is it missing because of poor accounting practices, or because of nefarious actions by a p... Read More »
Update - the President signed most of these provisions into law on April 5, (Public Law No: 112-106). Several of the small business bills listed below were merged as part of the Jumpstart Our Business Startups (JOBS) Act (H.R. 3606). November 4, 2011 - This week, the House passed several positive small business bills to allow more flexibility in raising capital and to reduce regulatory burdens. Even though Congress has been in gridlock over many issues this year, these measures all received strong bi-partisan support. In fact, several of these ideas were included as part of the President’s Ame... Read More »
