Congresswoman Kathy Castor announced that jobs, small business help and tax credits for Floridians are at the heart of the bill passed today by the U.S. House of Representatives. The “American Jobs, Closing Tax Loopholes and Preventing Outsourcing Act” drives job growth through significant investments in infrastructure, summer jobs for young people and small business lending. 

“Although the unemployment rate is improving in the Tampa Bay region, we must stay focused on creating new jobs and helping our small businesses,” Castor said.

The Act contains vital provisions to help small businesses, which are the backbone of the Tampa Bay area economy. “Small business owners need better access to credit to help them make the investments they need to thrive and hire workers.”

The bill eliminates fees normally charged for loans through the Small Business Administration and increases loan guarantees. Roughly 60 percent to 80 percent of new jobs are created by small businesses, according to estimates from the House Small Business Committee, and they account for approximately half of the nation’s jobs.

The Act also contains the following job creation and economic boosts for hardworking Floridians:

* Summer jobs initiatives for youth ages 16-24. Castor and members of the Congressional Black Caucus championed summer jobs for hard-hit neighborhoods. In 2008 and again in 2009, Castor successfully worked to secure funding for a summer youth internship program in St. Petersburg. “African-American and Hispanic teens are unemployed at high rates and therefore need job opportunities that they can use as stepping stones for future employment,” Castor said. “We are all working to make St. Petersburg’s initiative a great success, and with this legislation, I expect more of our youth in the hardest-hit areas to land jobs that will benefit them and our local economy.”

* Relief for Working Families – Families will be able to deduct state and local property taxes and general sales taxes on their federal tax return.  Families with students can deduct qualified education expenses, and teachers can deduct up to $250 for supplies they purchase for their classrooms.

* Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund Liability Cap Increase – Analysts estimate that the cost of the oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico could exceed $14 billion. The companies that caused the disaster are responsible for all of the costs of cleanup and up to $75 million of additional damages. These companies are responsible for all additional damages if they are found to be grossly negligent, to have engaged in willful misconduct, or to have violated an applicable Federal safety, construction or operating regulation. To the extent that costs are not borne by the parties responsible for the spill, up to $1 billion of additional damage costs (including up to $500 million of natural resource damage assessments) associated with an oil spill can be offset by funds in the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund. The Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund is an insurance fund that is financed by a per-barrel tax imposed on the oil industry. In order to ensure that individuals, businesses and communities that suffer damages as a result of oil spills are not left uncompensated, the bill would increase the $1 billion liability cap on the Oil Spill Liability Trust fund to $5 billion (including up to $2.5 billion of natural resource damage assessments).

The Oil Spill Liability Trust fund is financed by an 8 cent-per-barrel tax on the oil industry. There is approximately $1.5 billion available in this trust fund. The nonpartisan Congressional Research Service has stated “a major spill, particularly one in a sensitive environment, could threaten the viability of the fund.” To ensure the continued solvency of the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund, the bill would increase the per-barrel amount that oil companies are required to pay into the fund to 34 cents.

A separate measure approved by the House today ensures doctors who serve Medicare patients receive a 2 percent boost in their payments, in addition to averting 21 percent cuts in reimbursement rates. Doctors who serve Medicare patients will receive another boost in 2011.