Silvestre Reyes Blog
Latest news and issues from the desk of Congressman Silvestre Reyes.
- Third Annual Veterans Business Conference in El Paso
On behalf of the El Paso Small Business Consortium and my office, I would like to invite you to the upcoming Third Annual Veterans Business Conference. The conference will be held on May 16, 2008 at the El Paso Community College Administrative Services Center at 9050 Viscount in El Paso, Texas.
The conference will focus on providing veteran business owners and prospective veteran business owners, workshops on topics such as business startup, financing, marketing, bonding, business development, federal certification programs, and federal contracting. In addition to the workshops, there will be a great opportunity for you to network with other businesses owners and entrepreneurs.
The El Paso Small Business Consortium, which includes representatives of the U.S. Small Business Administration, the Contract Opportunity Center of the El Paso Community College, Small Business Development Center, Greater El Paso Chamber of Commerce, El Paso Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, The El Paso Black Chamber of Commerce, Service Corps of Retired Executives, Accion Texas, the City of El Paso, El Paso 8a and Minority Sub-Contractors Association, the University of Texas at El Paso, and Upper Rio Grande Work Force Development Board are partners in this initiative and will be featured as well.
I hope that you will be able to join us for the conference. To register for the conference or learn more about the conference and the exhibiting process, please feel free to contact Gracie Diaz at (915) 831-7745 or Pablo Armendariz at (915) 831-7747 at the Contract Opportunities Center. You may also visit my website for more information at www.house.gov/reyes.
May 16, 2008
7:30 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
9050 Viscount
El Paso Community College
Administrative Services Center Auditorium
El Paso, TX 79998
Blood Drive: Donate blood for the Troops
Information will be provided for:
• Veteran Start up Businesses
• Veterans Seeking Employment Opportunities
• Federal Certification Programs
• Business Development, Financing, Bonding
• Federal Contracting
• Essentials for Business Start up
• Matchmaking Opportunities for Business owners
All business owners and entrepreneurs are welcome to attend. - Raising awareness of Earned Income Tax Credit in El Paso
In an effort to ensure El Pasoans are aware of the Earned Income Tax Credit as tax season gets underway, please note this press release Congressman Reyes sent out today. There is also a link below to a brochure by the El Paso Coalition for Family Economic Progress that lists free tax preparation assistance sites in El Paso. These services are available across El Paso in both English and Spanish.
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Congressman Silvestre Reyes, D-El Paso, is proud to join with the El Paso Internal Revenue Service office and the El Paso Coalition for Family Economic Progress on "Earned Income Tax Awareness Day" to help increase awareness of the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) among potentially eligible El Paso taxpayers.
"The Earned Income Tax Credit is one of the largest tax credit programs available for working families," said Congressman Reyes. "There are estimates that many more taxpayers nationwide may be eligible, but arenÂ’t aware of it and therefore donÂ’t receive the credit they deserve. For eligible filers, this credit will help stretch their income and reduce their taxes.
"I applaud the work of the El Paso IRS and our community partners in helping get the word out about this federal tax credit and providing free tax preparation services for El Paso families," said Congressman Reyes.
According to the IRS, over 103,000 residents of El Paso County claimed $250 million in EITC funds in tax year 2006. The EITC is worth up to $4,716 per qualifying individual or family.
Created by Congress in 1975, the EITC is a refundable credit for working low-income families. The program helps offset Social Security taxes and provides an incentive for work. It is the federal governmentÂ’s largest benefits program for working families. In the 1990s, Congress transformed the program into a major component of federal efforts to reduce poverty, and it is now the largest anti-poverty entitlement program.
EITC Eligibility
To qualify during the 2007 tax year, taxpayers must have had investment income of $2,900 or less and earned income and adjusted gross incomes (AGI) under:- $37,783 ($39,783 married filing jointly) with two or more qualifying children;
- $33,241 ($35,241 married filing jointly) with one qualifying child; and
- $12,590 ($14,590 married filing jointly) with no qualifying children.
Click here for the EITC page on IRS website.
Para información en español a cerca del Crédito por Ingreso del Trabajo, siga esta página de Internet. - $37,783 ($39,783 married filing jointly) with two or more qualifying children;
- Texas Monthly Talks
Last month, Congressman Reyes sat down with Evan Smith, the editor of Texas Monthly magazine to tape an episode of Texas Monthly Talks, the magazineÂ’s weekly television show that airs on PBS across the state. As you can see from SmithÂ’s introduction of their show, which was posted on their website, their conversation ranged from immigration to the issues Congressman Reyes deals with as Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee. Excerpts from Smith's introduction:
By some estimates, as many as twelve million people are in this country illegally, living and working and raising their families among us, so much a part of our communities that weÂ’ve come to take it, and them, for granted. We know, because the doomsayers and demagogues tell us, that our borders are too porous, that our homeland isnÂ’t as secure as it should be, that our American way of life is under assault. And yet thereÂ’s another side to the story, one focused on the long tradition of immigrants of all kinds coming to America in search of opportunity and contributing in so many ways to this great melting pot of ours, and on the economic development made possible by an unfettered flow of people and commerce, and this weekÂ’s guest is only too happy to tell that story. For more than twenty-six years, Silvestre Reyes worked for the U.S. Border Patrol...
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Following the 2006 elections, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi named Congressman Reyes the chairman of the House Select Committee on Intelligence. The 63-year-old finds himself at the epicenter of power and policy-making in Washington at a time when experts on the thorny immigration issue are more in need than ever, and loudmouths who know nothing, of which there are many, need real schooling; in him, fortunately, we have someone who is more than capable of providing it.
The show aired on Sunday, December 8 on KCOS in El Paso. If you missed it, you can watch it online on the KLRU website: http://www.klru.org/texasmonthlytalks/archives/reyes/intro.asp
- Math and science - America falling behind
Recently, an article published in the Washington Post revealed that American teenagers are "trailing" others their age in the areas of science and math. Results from the 2006 Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) revealed that 15-year-olds in the U.S. placed 16th out of 30 industrialized nations in their science scores; American students placed even farther behind other nations in math, at 23rd.
The Post article, entitled "U.S. Teens Trail Peers Around World on Math-Science Test," highlights the implications of our neglected educational system on the future of American teenagers:
"How are our children going to be able to compete with the children of the world? The answer is not well," said former Colorado governor Roy Romer, chairman of Strong American Schools, a nonpartisan group seeking to make education prominent in the 2008 presidential election.
Recognizing the importance of American competitiveness in an interconnected, globalized world, Congressman Reyes has taken steps to address U.S. educational concerns in science and math. Earlier this year, he created the House Diversity and Innovation Caucus, which focuses on promoting policy to address the under-representation of Hispanics, African Americans and women within the science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields. In addition, Reyes has sponsored