Economy
We should not be satisfied with the historically low economic growth rate of the past decade.
Reforming the U.S. tax code is a key component to building economic momentum and growing our workforce. The United States has one of the highest corporate tax rates in the world, and this tax rate is driving American companies to send their manufacturing and customer service jobs abroad. Lowering the corporate tax rate will keep large businesses from sending jobs overseas, and a simpler tax code would allow small businesses to save money and grow. Government spending and regulation will not lead us to prosperity – only a vibrant private sector will.
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Congressman Andy Harris, M.D. (MD-01) made the following statement on raising the minimum wage to $15, an effort taken up by the U.S. House of Representatives this week:
"The CBO estimates we will lose up to 3.7 million jobs by increasing the minimum wage to $15 on a federal level. The last thing we need is to slow the economy."
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Rep. Harris praised the Northrop Grumman facility in Elkton for its participation in a collaborative weapons program with Raytheon - the Hypersonic Air-breathing Weapon Concept (HAWC) program.
WASHINGTON, DC: On May 6th, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced the imminent finalization of the rule providing for the release of 30,000 additional H-2B visas for the summer season of Fiscal Year 2019. Congressman Andy Harris (MD-01) has spearheaded the effort to secure these extra visas both in the House of Representatives and in the Maryland delegation, and made the following statement supporting the DHS' decision to increase the allotted amount of H-2B visas:
WASHINGTON, DC: Today, the House Committee on Appropriations is considering the FY19 Homeland Security Appropriations bill. Congressman Andy Harris, M.D. (MD-01) authored, and the committee approved, an amendment to permanently fix the H-2B visa program. The seafood processing industry and other employers on Maryland's Eastern Shore depend on this program to hire temporary workers when they cannot find Americans interested in their job openings. Congressman Harris made the following statement after the amendment was passed:
CENTREVILLE — In a bipartisan letter to Secretary of Homeland Security Kristjen Nielsen dated June 26, Republican Congressman Andy Harris, R-1st, along with 82 other U.S. Representatives, urged for more H-2B visas.
WASHINGTON, DC: On June 26, Congressman Andy Harris, M.D. (MD-01) sent a bipartisan letter, signed by 82 members of the U.S. House of Representatives, to Secretary of Homeland Security Kristjen Nielsen in support of the H-2B visa program. The letter urges the Department of Homeland Security to issue additional H-2B nonimmigrant temporary workers visas, in response to historically high demand for H-2B visas this year. These visas are used by seasonal industries, including the Eastern Shore's seafood processing industry, when businesses are unable to find American workers.
WASHINGTON — Maryland's Board of Public Works has approved putting $375,000 toward a marketing campaign to help the state's seafood industry, which has been hit by a labor shortage.
The vote on Wednesday is intended to help the crab industry after a change in the federal HB2 visa program left a number of Eastern Shore crab houses without the seasonal foreign crab-processing labor they've depended on for years.
The money approved by the BPW will go to a Maryland Department of Agriculture program that markets seafood sales.
WASHINGTON, DC: On June 8, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 5895, the Energy and Water, Legislative Branch, and Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Act. Congressman Andy Harris, M.D. (MD-01), a member of the Appropriations Committee, made the following statement lauding the bill's passage:
WASHINGTON, DC: On June 7, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 3, the Spending Cuts to Expired and Unnecessary Programs Act. Congressman Andy Harris, M.D. (MD-01) released the following statement in support of the bill's passage:
"Today, the House of Representatives passed common-sense legislation to begin the long process of reining in our out of control federal spending. The nearly $15 billion that would be cut by this legislation sat untouched in various government accounts for years, and should be returned to the treasury.
WOOLFORD, Md. - It's no doubt that when you think of Maryland, you think of blue crabs. But this season has presented new issues that has made it tougher on the industry.
Their biggest hurdle has been the H-2B Visa Program. Usually, these operations are fully up and running with the help of those visa workers, but with a change in the program, they are now shorthanded.