The Economy

As a former ranch hand, Scott Kleeb appreciates the value of a hard day’s work. As a husband and father, Scott understands the growing challenges that working families are facing and the worries people have concerning their children’s future. It is essential that we solve problems now rather than leaving them for future generations. As a U.S. Senator, Scott Kleeb will work to strengthen our nation’s economy and bring jobs to Nebraska.

PROMOTE RESPONSIBLE SPENDING AND MIDDLE CLASS TAX RELIEF

For too long, Washington has allowed deficit spending to be the norm. Scott Kleeb believes our kids deserve better. Scott knows what it’s like to balance a checkbook and believes it’s a lesson Washington insiders must learn. In the U.S. Senate, Scott will stand up for the middle class by ending deficit spending and providing real tax relief.

Restore principled spending. Because of unbridled spending, every child born in America today is already saddled with $30,000 of debt. We cannot continue to mortgage our nation’s future and pass off trillions of dollars in debt to our children and grandchildren. Scott Kleeb, a fiscal conservative, believes it is a moral imperative for Washington to stop unchecked deficit spending. That’s why Scott will fight for:

A principled, pay-as-you-go approach to spending. For the last two years, Congress has made a great effort to return to the pay-as-you-go approach to spending. This means spending only the money you have, not the money you wish you had. Most Nebraskans - most Americans - already use this approach to balancing their checkbook each month.

Ending pork-barrel spending. Washington has allowed special interest groups to line their pockets with our tax dollars through earmarks. Scott Kleeb believes the time has come to increase transparency in earmark spending so the American taxpayers know where their money is going and why.

Give real tax relief. For too long, the middle class has been bearing too much of the load. Scott Kleeb believes it’s time for Washington to bring meaningful financial relief to hard-working Americans. In the U.S. Senate, Scott will advocate for sound measures like:

Closing loopholes that allow corporations to avoid paying their fair share in taxes.
Fixing the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT), an unfair tax that ensnares more and more middle-class Americans every year.
Ending the marriage penalty.
Reforming the estate tax to prevent families from losing a family home or business, like the family-run farms right here in Nebraska.
Continuing the child care tax credit.
Providing small businesses, like those developing and creating jobs in renewable energy, tax cuts to spur research and development.
Eliminating capital gains taxes on the sale of a home when the appreciation was less than $500,000.

End unfunded mandates. Too often, Washington hands down a federal mandate without giving states the resources they need to pay for and implement programs. Scott Kleeb believes this practice must stop.

ECONOMIC ENGAGEMENT THROUGH TRADE

Scott Kleeb knows that a thriving global economy is both a road to economic prosperity and to spreading the promise of democracy. Scott believes we must take a strong and focused approach in negotiating agreements that provide new opportunities for American workers and promote American values, while forging deeper ties with our trading partners.

Promote fair trade, not free trade. Expanding trade with other countries should not mean sacrificing American jobs, nor should it be a one-way street. Scott Kleeb supports trade agreements that require other countries to follow clear, transparent rules, and to provide real opportunities for U.S. farmers and companies to access foreign markets.

Effective enforcement of existing agreements. The United States cannot benefit from free trade if other countries don’t abide by the rules. Scott Kleeb believes that we must dedicate more resources to enforcing our existing trade agreements when other countries block U.S. goods and services, including bringing more cases to the World Trade Organization.

Strong labor and environmental protections. Our free trade agreements should truly level the playing field between U.S. and foreign firms, by ensuring that our trading partners have strong labor and environmental standards.

Expand trade adjustment assistance. Scott Kleeb recognizes that some industries and communities can be harmed by increased imports. That’s why he supports expanding trade adjustment assistance to retrain displaced workers, including those in the services sector. Comprehensive education and training are essential to putting Americans back to work, and maintaining U.S. competitiveness.

SUPPORT FOR THE AMERICAN WORKER

As the son of two career public servants, Scott Kleeb knows firsthand the importance of fair labor laws. Scott believes we must:

Stop tax breaks for companies sending American jobs overseas. Too frequently, we’ve seen companies get rich off the backs of American workers only to ship their jobs overseas. Scott Kleeb believes this is not only bad for American families, but also bad for business. Scott will work to stop extending tax breaks to companies that take good-paying jobs overseas, and instead invest in those companies that invest in American workers.

Support Nebraska’s workers. Scott Kleeb recognizes the overarching importance of the American labor movement in creating the strongest middle class in history. As a U.S. Senator, Scott will work with both sides of the aisle to improve the working lives of the middle class. His priorities include:

Supporting the Employee Free Choice Act.
Expanding the Family and Medical Leave Act and other measures that support working families.
Fighting discrimination in the workplace.
Increasing the minimum wage and indexing it to inflation.
Supporting tax incentives for small businesses, the best providers of stable, good paying jobs.

Support the transition to a green-collar economy. Scott Kleeb will work to give tax incentives to those companies that keep jobs here in the United States, as well as those that embrace the shift to clean, domestic energy technologies. To do that, Scott will support:

Blue- to green-collar job transition that invests in training programs to help workers and industries move from traditional manufacturing jobs to clean technology development and production, and modernizing and refitting manufacturing centers to house clean technology development in the future.
Increasing clean energy transportation by providing increased tax incentives to help families transition to cleaner technologies.
Increasing green-building tax incentives for those retrofitting existing structures or building new homes and corporate buildings that incorporate LEED-approved building standards.

INVEST IN NEBRASKA

Scott Kleeb believes the time has come to get serious about our energy future. This means investing in clean, domestic, renewable technologies, which can harness the tremendous natural resources we have right here in Nebraska. That includes:

Investing in and developing ethanol.
Harnessing Nebraska’s wind potential.
Realizing the promise of solar power.
Developing clean coal technology.
Providing tax credits and continuing subsidies.