Abel Maldonado, R-Santa Maria, 24th Congressional District candidate released on Tuesday a proposal outlining eight specific policy initiatives he would introduce and support to remove government barriers to job creation and get the economy moving forward again.

“At the heart of any campaign must be ideas on how to tackle the true challenges of our time,” Maldonado said. “After 14 years in Washington, how is it possible Congresswoman Capps has yet to offer a plan of her own? More than 23 million Americans are either unemployed or underemployed, all the while the politicians in Washington fight one another instead of coming together to put the interests of the people first.

“No one wants to talk specifics — it’s time we changed that. A vibrant and prosperous economy is within reach — we just need the will and the ideas to get it done. I’m hoping what I’ve put forward today can be the first step forward we take in putting people back to work and growing the businesses of the Central Coast.”

Maldonado’s plan is built on four specific benchmarks, all of which are hallmarks of a healthy and vibrant economy: lower taxes on small businesses, create a pathway to job creation through a simpler, fairer tax code, ending the regulatory tsunami preventing hiring in America and ending Washington’s reckless spending of taxpayer dollars.

1. The Sequestration Repeal Act of 2013

In Washington they call it “sequestration,” but in the real world it means cutting $11 billion from Medicare, cutting the number of food inspectors or air-traffic controllers on the job. It means reducing the readiness of our non-deployed military units, delaying investments in new equipment and facilities for our armed forces, and downsizing base services for military families.

That means the Central Coast families who live and work at Vandenberg Air Force Base or Point Mugu Naval Air Station are caught in the middle, unsure if they’ll be able to keep their jobs and their homes. Last year, Washington reached its credit card limit and instead of making tough decisions, lawmakers did what they always do — kick the can down the road and blame one another on TV, leaving the rest of us to deal with the fallout.

By stocking these reckless across-the-board cuts that take effect Jan. 2, 2013, the Sequestration Repeal Act of 2013 would stave off the catastrophic consequences of a reckless policy that will hit working families and the heart of our national security.

California looks to be one of the hardest-hit states should the cuts that Defense Secretary Leon Panetta has called “very dangerous” occur. The Center for Security Policy estimates that under sequestration, California is at risk of losing:

» 125,789 jobs
» 19,634 active-military employees
» 15,341 civilian DoD employees
» $10.79 billion decrease in California’s GDP

2. The Small Business Tax-Cut Act of 2013

Small businesses are the backbone of our economy and the lifeblood of job creation in America. The best and most immediate thing we can do to help small businesses in the Central Coast keep their doors open is provide broad and meaningful tax relief. That’s why I will introduce and sponsor the “Small Business Tax-Cut Act of 2013.” This bill would reduce taxes on small businesses by more than $45 billion over 10 years by allowing small businesses with fewer than 500 employees take a tax deduction equal to 20 percent of their active business income. By reducing their tax burden, small-business owners will have more resources to invest in hiring and expanding their businesses.

3. The Tax Certainty and Relief Act of 2013

Job creators throughout the 24th Congressional District face a tax system that is needlessly complex and constantly changing. Absent certainty in the tax code, our entrepreneurs and innovators sit on the sidelines. Small-business owners can’t budget for next year because they don’t know how much their tax liability will be because Washington doesn’t have their act together.

The Tax Certainty and Relief Act of 2013 would provide certainty for job creators in our tax code and would prevent a tax increase of $383.6 billion. Specifically, this legislation would provide a one-year extension of all current individual tax rates, as well as the 15 percent top rate on capital gains and dividends. The proposal would also extend for one year the estate tax rates at their current levels, the $1,000 child tax credit, marriage penalty relief and certain educational tax credits.

We cannot expect anyone to invest in our businesses if the tax code isn’t consistent. We cannot expect small businesses to hire or grow if we can’t give them the certainty of knowing how much they’ll have to pay in taxes next year.

4. The Medical Device Tax Repeal Act of 2013

This bill would repeal the 2.3 percent tax on medical device manufacturers that was included in the self-proclaimed Affordable Care Act. The Los Angeles Times reported that Washington’s health-care law “may be a catalyst for new forms of outsourcing.”

A medical device manufacturer in Indiana canceled plans to open five new manufacturing plants because of the medical device tax included in the bill Congresswoman Capps helped write. This is a company that employs more than 10,000 people worldwide, and Capps’ tax forced it to change its focus to growth overseas. The frightening thing is we have a medical device manufacturer in the 24th Congressional District — in Santa Maria. How long until it thinks about moving jobs and operations overseas?

This tax alone could result in 43,000 jobs being shipped overseas beginning as early as next year. Ultimately, that tax will either drive businesses and manufacturing jobs overseas or out of business. Costs that are passed on to hospitals and insurance companies will ultimately be passed on to the American people. That tax has got to go.

5. The Preparing Our Veterans to Work Act of 2013

With the presence of Vandenberg AFB and Point Mugu in the 24th Congressional District, we are reminded daily of the importance and benefit of finding work for our local military veterans. The truth is, one of the greatest untapped resources available to our economy comes from our military service men and women who have acquired a number of specialized skills through their years of service to our country. We need to do more to integrate our military veterans into our economy.

This bill would create and modify programs that provide employment and training services to veterans and service members separating from active duty. It would make changes to programs that offer home loan guarantees, ambulance services and pension payments to qualifying individuals. Specifically, this bill would provide up to 12 months of Veterans Retraining Assistance to unemployed veterans who enter education or training programs at community colleges or technical schools to prepare them for employment in an occupational field that is determined by the Department of Labor to have significant employment opportunities.

6. The Regulation Economic Impact and Transparency Act of 2013

Too often, Washington imposes regulations on large and small businesses without determining the economic impact of regulations upfront. At the very least, a new regulation should not be implemented until an economic impact evaluation is complete, submitted to Congress and made public. The Small Business Administration found that the current cost of regulatory compliance for small businesses with fewer than 20 employees was $10,585 per employee. Since 2009, there have been 1,603 new regulations that impact small businesses.

While we all support the need to maintain and implement regulations that protect our air, food and water, there are clearly regulations coming out of Washington that are unnecessary, burdensome and come with a major price tag. The least we can do is determine and put forward for public review, the total cost of that regulation before it is implemented.

7. The Regulatory Freeze Act of 2013

Since January 2009, Washington has imposed 106 regulations that have an economic impact of $100 million per regulation. That’s tens of billions of dollars not going into our economy. The Regulatory Freeze Act of 2013 would simply put a freeze on all new regulations that are deemed “economically significant” (meaning they have an economic impact of $100 million or more) until the unemployment rate falls below 6 percent.

8. The Regulatory Sunset Act of 2013

Virtually every bill passed out of Washington has some kind of unintended consequence — some unforeseen byproduct that supporters never intended and want to reform. Many initiatives fall to the bureaucracy to interpret and implement leaving enormous power and authority in the hands of unelected and unaccountability bureaucrats. Given the number of regulations coming out of Washington, there needs to be an established and codified check-and-balance that ensures a thorough review of the effectiveness of new regulations created and implemented by this faceless bureaucracy.

The Regulatory Sunset Act of 2013 would put a sunset on all new regulations not specifically authorized or enumerated by Congress and subject those regulations born inside the bureaucracy to a biannual review resulting in an up-or-down reauthorization vote by the Congress.

— Kurt Bardella is communications director for Abel Maldonado for Congress.