AH&LA Applauds President's State of the Union Speech
WASHINGTON, DC, January 29, 2008. The American Hotel & Lodging Association (AH&LA) commends President Bush on the final State of the Union speech of his term in office, and for remarks reinforcing his continuing commitment to swift passage of an economic stimulus package. Along with his push for this legislation, the President also emphasized his desire to streamline current guest-worker programs to ensure American employers have access to the workers they need to keep their businesses sustainable.
"In the time since the announcement that the Administration and Congress would be drafting an emergency economic stimulus package, President Bush has clearly demonstrated his ability to pull together Members from both sides of the aisle and develop a bipartisan solution to the problems facing this country," said Marlene Colucci, AH&LA executive vice president for public policy. "His desire to work closely with Congressional leadership from both sides of the aisle and his commitment to working towards swift passage of the best possible legislation will be instrumental in getting this relief to those who need it most."
As part of early negotiations on this package, the President last week outlined four principles intended to guide negotiations between the Administration and the House of Representatives. These included his belief that the package is large enough to impact an economy the size and strength of that in the United States, it is based on broad tax relief rather than increased Federal spending to positively affect economic growth, it is temporary and takes effect immediately, and it does not raise taxes or include unnecessary spending provisions.
In an effort to influence the shape of the final stimulus package, AH&LA requested the inclusion of five specific proposals in a letter recently sent to Congressional leadership. Members have been asked to include immediate relief for the H-2B temporary seasonal worker program, an expanded Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC), travel promotion funding, bonus depreciation, and an extension of the carryforward or carryback periods for Net Operating Losses (NOL). The plan agreed announced last week by House Leadership and the Administration includes a 50-percent bonus depreciation on equipment purchases by businesses.
"The President recognizes the positive and immediate impact this proposal will have on millions of businesses, families, and individuals in this country," continued Colucci, "and we strongly encourage the Administration and Congress to take a hard look at our industry requests, all of which are vital to the long-term sustainability of hotels throughout the United States."
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