This week, Rep. Pete Aguilar (CA-31) traveled throughout San Bernardino County, holding Jobs Roundtable discussions with small business owners, veterans, and community leaders to talk about job creation and economic growth in the Inland Empire. The meetings were held in San Bernardino, Rancho Cucamonga, and Redlands over the course of the week.

“It’s important that I hear directly from constituents throughout the district about what they’re experiencing on the ground. Small business owners in Rancho Cucamonga face different obstacles than veterans in San Bernardino or community leaders in Redlands. We had some incredible conversations and discussed specific solutions for these problems, whether it is addressing the skills gap, providing tax incentives for small businesses to expand and create new jobs, or investing in workforce training.” said Rep. Pete Aguilar.

Doug Rowand, Owner and CEO of Arrowhead United Way, participated in the San Bernardino roundtable discussion on Tuesday. “Representative Aguilar clearly demonstrated his leadership by uniting such a diverse group of people to gather ideas on such a crucial issue as job creation,” said Rowand. He added, “It was a wonderful event and an important opportunity that I’m grateful to have shared with my fellow business owners and community members.”

Sandy Harmsen, Executive Director of the Workforce Investment Board of San Bernardino County participated in the Rancho Cucamonga roundtable on Wednesday. “This event was a great platform to bring together a wide array of voices to discuss a common goal: boosting our local economy,” said Harmsen. She continued, “The Workforce Investment Board is often regarded as the hub of workforce development activities in San Bernardino County. We have the most up-to-date information about the types of jobs that are available in our market and the skills employers are seeking, so to have the opportunity to share and discuss this with Representative Aguilar was very worthwhile.”

Jesse Medina, President and CEO of Veterans Strong also attended a roundtable discussion. “We need to address job creation in our district from a number of different angles; one of the most important includes how we work with veterans. I was pleased to see Representative Aguilar touch on this in several ways, from investing in workforce training to establishing tax incentives for businesses that hire veterans,” said Medina. He added, “The roundtable format created a great space to discuss our concerns directly and I look forward to participating in more events like this with Representative Aguilar.”

Just six weeks into office, Representative Aguilar has co-sponsored and voted for several pieces of legislation that concentrate on job creation and support for small businesses. He co-sponsored a bill that would support job training, apprenticeships, and certification classes for eligible veterans; and he also co-sponsored the Small BREW Act. The Small BREW Act would reduce the federal excise tax for beer on small brewers, allowing these small businesses to hire more employees. Representative Aguilar recently voted to permanently extend a series of tax breaks many small businesses rely on.

 

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