Commitment to America: Rebuilding Our Economy, Renewing the American Dream
As appeared in the October 22, 2020 edition of the Elizabethtown Advocate & Ephrata Review
Our Commitment to America will rebuild our economy to pre-Covid stability. Congress, with the support of President Trump, created the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), which has supported roughly 175,000 businesses in Pennsylvania and saved close to 100,000 jobs right here in southern York and Lancaster counties. Our proposal would maintain the PPP to support small businesses as we continue the great American comeback. We will further support Opportunity Zones, which have supported revitalizations in distressed communities. We will provide support to families by extending the $2,000 child tax credit. We will always support pro-growth policies like tax relief for hard-working Americans and regulatory relief, which promotes a strong economy, independent of the government.
We will ensure America's economic success by modernizing and investing in our infrastructure.
This includes launching a 5-year plan to fix and improve roads, bridges, and airports. We will also reduce unnecessary regulations and cut permitting process times in half for new projects. As COVID-19 has displaced many Americans from working at an office or attending school every day, we will also increase investment in broadband access to provide high speed internet to everyone, but particularly rural Americans. Without this critical infrastructure investment, too many Americans could remain out of work and out of school. Rebuilding our economy to be stronger than it was before COVID-19 will enable all Americans to pursue and achieve their own American Dream.
We will renew the American Dream by creating opportunity for all Americans.
I have been privileged to be born in the greatest nation in the history of the world and have lived the American Dream. I was born the tenth child in an Amish family of twelve. As a young child, I loved to read and to learn. Traditionally, education for Amish children ends in eighth or ninth grade, but my parents allowed me to attend high school on two conditions. I had to attend a private Christian school. I had to pay for my own tuition to attend high school. I attended Lancaster Mennonite High School during the day and at night I worked for an older brother hanging drywall. By the time I graduated high school, the older brother I worked for was looking to move on to other ventures. So I bought the drywall company from him. As a teenager, I became a small business owner, which over two decades eventually grew to employ hundreds of individuals. I share my story because it is an American story. We have more opportunity here than in any place in the world.
House Republicans will support every Americans' success now and in the future.
Ensuring that children across the nation have that same opportunity to live their American Dream starts with ensuring that every child can earn a high-quality education, regardless of where they were born or where they live. We will achieve this by allowing parents to choose the school that is right for their child, investing in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) and career and technical training programs. Legislation which I have introduced, the USA Workforce Tax Credit, would stimulate private sector support for organizations which provide K-12 scholarships, apprenticeship training or workforce development and create opportunities for students to explore successful career pathways. A strong educational foundation opens the door to success.
While the Commitment to America helps create opportunity for future generations of America, it also affirms our promise to protect and strengthen Social Security and Medicare for older Americans. Our Commitment to America is a commitment to you: we will restore our way of life, rebuild the greatest economy, and renew the American Dream. To learn more about these proposals, please visit my website at Smucker.House.gov.