Economy and Jobs
Strengthening Our Economic Base

Contribute to Help Peter Fight to Strengthen the Economy!

In Florida and throughout America, we've been waiting a long time for our economy to get back on track. While we see some indications of improvement, good news hasn't trickled down to those millions of Americans still looking for work.

The president's answer to our slow economic recovery has been huge tax cuts that disproportionately benefit the very rich, leaving most of us with only a few extra dollars in our pockets. At the same time, the president and Republicans in Congress were cheating the unemployed out of a few extra weeks of benefits and weakening workers' rights to overtime pay.

Let me be clear. In the Senate, I'll continue to be a strong supporter of tax relief for American families - including: estate tax relief, repeal of the marriage penalty, more help with savings for a college education, and with meeting the costs of health care. But I oppose tax cuts primarily for the wealthy few that drive up deficits and make it more difficult to address other national priorities such as protecting the long-term solvency of Social Security and modernizing Medicare. Not only do these excessive tax cuts provide an inefficient stimulus to our economy, but they will swell the federal debt and hurt state budgets, as well. That's just not sound economic or fiscal policy.

As your Senator, rather than focusing exclusively on tax cuts to get us out of the economic doldrums, I'll work on the root causes of the problems that face our economy today. I'll push for laws that make it less attractive for U.S. corporations to move high-paying jobs offshore, as so many have begun to do. For example, the Corporate Patriot Enforcement Act that I cosponsored makes it illegal for companies to relocate offshore to avoid paying U.S. taxes. And I'll continue to oppose Republican efforts in Congress to allow offshore companies to get Homeland Security Department contracts. If American tax dollars are being used to protect America's domestic security, we should at least demand that American companies spend those dollars here at home.

I'll also continue to support efforts to clean up the mess on Wall Street and reinstill the faith and confidence Americans need to invest in their economic future. The Sarbanes-Oxley legislation enacted into law two years ago with my support will curb the abuses of the past. In the Senate, I'll work to require the level of corporate responsibility that most American investors will demand in the future.

Getting our economy moving will also require new public investments. Investments in roads and other infrastructure will certainly be needed, but that's not all. My work to repair the damage caused by decades of abuse and neglect of the Florida Everglades is an investment in the economic future of Florida. Here at home, our economy is the environment. If there is any place where we need to manage the two together, it's here in Florida. In 2000, I sponsored the Florida Keys Water Quality Act. This legislation, now law, authorizes $100 million for projects in the Florida Keys to improve planning, design, and construction for water treatment. In the Senate, I'll continue to work for these investments in Florida's economy.

We must also make new investments in our people. A rapidly changing world economy means training and retraining will become more common for the next generation of workers. And, more than ever before, that future workforce will need to get the best educational start possible. In the U.S. House, I've called repeatedly on the president and Republicans in Congress to make good on the commitments in the new No Child Left Behind federal education law - promises to parents and students that a better quality education and more accountability were in the offering. But over the past two years, they have under-funded No Child Left Behind by $7.8 billion, leaving the promise of a quality education for every child in Florida and America an empty one.

As Senator, I'll fight for these investments for Florida and for America. I'll fight to keep good jobs here on our soil. I'll fight for a fair and sensible tax code that helps stimulate economic growth without forcing us to ignore other priorities. And I'll fight for fairness in the workplace so that we can benefit from economic prosperity and a higher standard of living.