Transportation

** Limit diversions from the gas tax allowing more monies to be spent on road construction.

** Provide funds for the maintenance, expansion and creation of new highway infrastructure prioritizing projects based upon safety hazards.

Education/Workforce

** Increase funding for elementary, secondary and higher education keeping education affordable for all students and their families (H.R.193).

** Increase the amount of money available for Pell Grants.

** Improve and streamline the funding for No Child Left Behind so that it doesn't cause undo hardships on our educators and our students.
** Encourage increased funding for workforce development programs.

** Support economic development tax incentives.

** Support legislation expanding Historcially Underutilized Business (HUB) criteria to include veteran-owned businesses.

Economic Development

** Reduce taxes and restriction on small business. Support President Bush's Small Business Agenda and the Proposed Tax Relief plan (H.R.976, H.R.46, H.R.1797).

** Make permanent the full deductibility of state and local sales taxes for federal income taxes (S.180).

** Make permanent the repeal of the estate tax (H.R.1586).

** SBIR/STTR programs strengthen entrepreneurship, small business startups and technology commercialization thus helping create 80% of the U.S. total net new jobs over the last two decades. Request continued support of SBIR/STTR funding (H.R.1712, S.41).

Health and Human Services

** Support legislation making it easier for small businesses to buy helath insurance together.

** Support legislation which help fund the State Children's Health Insurance Programs (H.R.1329).

** Support incentives or an above-the-line deduction on Long-Term Care insurance for companies and individuals (S.504).

** Support legislation which would increase funding for mental health services (H.R.1155).

** Request support for programs that increase funding for education and training of health care professionals in shortage areas such as nursing.

** Support legislation that prohibits increases in fees for military health care (H.R.579).

** Support legislation that increases the amount reimbursed to rural health care providers (H.R.140).

** Support legislation to facilitate and fund nationwide availability of the 2-1-1 telephone service for information and referral on health and human services (H.R.211).

Source: Bryan-College Station Chamber of Commerce

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