Opinion-Editorial

My primary responsibility is serving the people of the San Fernando Valley.

Our celebration of Veterans Day last month was a reminder of the special debt that we owe to those in our community who have served in uniform.

Our military pledges to “leave no soldier behind” on the battlefield. In Congress, we must “leave no veteran behind” when they return home from service. Our veterans deserve additional assistance re-integrating into the workforce when they return from active duty, and I want to do everything I can to keep our promises to veterans.

Small businesses are the foundation of our economy, and they are critical to the nation's number one priority: creating the kinds of jobs that will fuel our recovery.

I continue to work closely with business leaders from the San Fernando Valley and across the country to enact federal laws important to improving our business climate and recently I joined my colleagues in passing H.R. 5297, the Small Business Jobs Act of 2010, by a vote of 237-187.

August 14th marked the 75th anniversary of Social Security and now is an appropriate time to celebrate the program that has helped so many Americans. It is also a time to assess the long-term viability of a program that in recent years has been under attack, and to reaffirm my pledge to protect it.

That's good news. But the agency is going overboard

By Brad Sherman and Michael Conaway

The Wall Street Journal
August 26, 2010

The IRS is out to do something nice for us by ensuring we get quality help when we hire someone to prepare our tax returns. Unfortunately, parts of this laudable effort may be too much of a good thing. By going too far, too fast with more regulation than necessary, the IRS will add needless burden and expense. The agency's goals could be achieved more cheaply and efficiently without stretching its enforcement resources so thin.

As a CPA, I understand the struggles that many San Fernando Valley families face when balancing their budgets. I am also aware of how tough the current economic situation is and the difficulty of finding good paying jobs. That is why, in Congress, I have focused on fighting the deficit and wasteful spending and looking for ways to create and preserve job opportunities, just like people are doing at home.

Fighting the Deficit and Wasteful Spending

From the beginning of these difficult economic times, I have been committed to supporting and proposing reforms to ensure that consumers, investors, small businesses and everyday Americans are no longer taken advantage of by the big institutions on Wall Street.

By Congressman Brad Sherman

As of April 27, 2010, domestic air travelers were spared of lengthy airplane delays on the tarmac and will enjoy additional consumer protections. Although not everyone considers air travel to be fun, it should certainly be safe and free of suffering.

Under a new rule, U.S. airlines operating domestic flights may not permit an aircraft to remain on the tarmac at large and medium hub airports (LAX and Burbank Airport) for more than three hours without deplaning passengers. Three hours is still too long but this is a reasonable start.

Depending on whether you are due a refund or owe a debt, you have come to either love or hate Internal Revenue Service (IRS) around this time of the year. Overall, I suspect that public sentiment towards this agency takes a turn for the worse – especially during tough economic times like we are experiencing now. That is why, with the tax filing deadline behind us, I am highlighting the fact that the IRS actually owes some Los Angelenos money.