Editorial: Brown's Agenda
It's official. Election season is once again upon us.
That much was apparent last week when the junior senator from Massachusetts, Scott Brown, hit North Suburban Chamber of Commerce in Woburn with a speech chock full of legislative proposals designed to help out businesses in the Bay State and beyond.
Brown will be up for reelection in the fall of 2012, his first official election since he won the Ted Kennedy seat in a special runoff in January 2009. Since that time, Brown has laid relatively low in terms of developing his own initiatives, but his coming out at the Woburn chamber certainly caught the attention of the media, as did a report from the Boston Globe that he’s got $7.4 million in his campaign war chest.
From Bills To Laws
During his remarks, Brown outlined a total of six different legislative proposals, including the Innovate America Act, which is co-sponsored by Democratic Senator Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota. The wide-ranging legislation is intended to cut “spending and red tape and help businesses utilize research and development for new products.” In addition, the legislation calls for rewarding schools “that focus on science, technology, engineering and math.”
That bill, S.239, was officially introduced on Jan. 31 and looks to be a clever piece of bipartisanship on behalf of Republican Brown.
The other measures on his agenda include legislation that would eliminate the 2.3-percent excise tax on medical devices expected to take effect after Dec. 31, and one that would repeal a new measure under the IRS code which requires governments to withhold 3 percent of nearly all contract payments to private companies.
A fourth proposal aims to streamline the FDA approval process to encourage the speed with which lifesaving drugs make it to market.
Then there’s the Hire a Hero Act, which would extend a tax credit to businesses that hire veterans. In his sixth piece of legislation, Brown proposes further protections for the fishing industry in the Bay State.
That’s an awful lot of legislative proposals from Brown, who thus far has done little in the way of originating legislation in Washington, D.C.
As a Republican representing an overwhelmingly Democratic state, Brown must dance with a subtle step as he maneuvers between the pressure to stay in line with his Republican colleagues and his state’s more liberal and democratic leanings.
So far he’s done a fair job on that balancing act, disappointing everyone at one time or another, but maintaining the necessary balance to walk the middle path he must navigate to maintain his broad-based support.
Earnest Effort
His proposals, though lacking substantial detail at this time, appear universally business friendly, which is a positive, if not unexpected, direction from Senator Brown.
Whether these legislative proposals truly stimulate economic activity, are revenue neutral or ultimately contribute to further deficits remains to be seen.
And with a freshman senator unloading his first volley of initiatives, how many of them see the light of day in the legislative sausage factory of Washington, D.C., remains to be seen.
Nonetheless, it’s nice to see Brown on the offense, showing his hand and pushing for business growth through incentives as well as the reduction of burdensome regulation.
Of course, Brown’s pro-business talk is just that — talk. Only time will tell whether Brown can prove himself to be a champion for the Bay State businesses that drive our economy.
The only thing we know for sure, is that we’ll be keeping score on Brown’s successes and failures.
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