In reviewing President Obama’s budget proposal, Senator Coons was especially interested in programs to create good-quality jobs and help Delaware and America compete and win in a global economy.
To achieve these goals, Chris has actively supported manufacturing programs, as well investments in research and development, in previous legislation. President Obama zeroed in on some of these same solutions in his budget. Highlights include:
- Manufacturing Tax Incentives. The budget plan includes tax incentives for manufacturers who create jobs here and doubles the deduction for advanced manufacturing. It also ends tax deductions for shipping jobs overseas and creates a Manufacturing Communities Tax Credit to encourage investment in communities affected by job loss.
- Innovation Corps. The Administration proposes $19 million for a new public-private “Innovation Corps” program aimed at bringing together the technological, entrepreneurial, and business know-how necessary to bring discoveries ripe for innovation out of the university lab.
- Research and Development. The budget blueprint makes the R&D tax credit permanent, an idea Senator Coons strongly supports and has introduced as legislation because of its importance to economic competitiveness. The budget proposal includes an overall number of $140.8 billion for R&D and increases the level of investment in non-defense R&D by 5 percent from the 2012 level as well as provides $2.2 billion for advanced manufacturing R&D, a 19% increase over 2012.
- International Trade Administration. Proposed funding for this program, which promotes exports and trade enforcement, is increased by $60 million, or 14%.