[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 1]
[House]
[Page 826]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         NEW MARKETS TAX CREDIT

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Massachusetts (Mr. Neal) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. NEAL. I rise today to speak about the New Markets Tax Credit 
program and the positive impact it has had on western Massachusetts.
  I've been a leader of New Markets since its enactment in 2000 because 
it's a cost-effective way to create jobs and drive investment in low-
income communities. Today, I want to highlight a few New Market Tax 
Credit initiatives in my State.
  New Markets Tax Credit is designed to stimulate investment and 
economic growth in areas that are traditionally overlooked by 
conventional capital markets. This program attracts capital to low-
income communities by providing private investors with a 39 percent 
Federal tax credit for investments made in businesses or economic 
developments located in those areas.
  In 2010, New Markets generated $9.5 billion in capital for projects 
and businesses in low-income communities. This capital resulted in the 
development of 15 million square feet of manufacturing, retail, and 
community-related space throughout the country.
  Last year, New Markets Tax Credits investments resulted in the 
creation or retention of 70,000 jobs, including 38,000 construction 
jobs.
  Unfortunately, New Markets is a temporary program that expired on 
December 31. I am now and have been the lead Democratic sponsor of this 
legislation to extend the program for a predictable 5 years. I've now 
been calling on our colleagues to extend this initiative. So let me 
share with you a few successes from back home and explain why I think 
New Markets works so well.
  Hot Mama's Foods in Springfield, Massachusetts, my hometown--it's a 
great success story. The company was created in the 1980s, and they 
manufacture and package fresh and frozen gourmet salsa and other 
spreads that are all natural and, indeed, organic. Hot Mama's was 
originally located in Northampton, but thanks to New Markets, they were 
able to purchase a larger USDA-certified food production facility on 
Avocado Street in Springfield. It has added 10 new jobs and retained 50 
jobs in the current workforce.
  Another success story is the River Valley Market in Northampton, 
Massachusetts, which moved into a former granite quarry. No one wanted 
this space because it was prohibitively expensive to renovate; but 
through New Markets and other financial support, they opened a food 
cooperative that features local farmers and employs neighborhood 
residents.
  Finally, let me highlight a more recent New Markets project that's 
currently under construction, the Massachusetts Green High Performance 
Computing Center in Holyoke, Massachusetts. Holyoke is a city in 
western Massachusetts with a population of about 40,000 people. From 
the late 19th century until the mid-20th century, Holyoke was known as 
the world's biggest paper manufacturer.
  The High Performance Computing Center is a $168 million technology 
hub that is being built at the former Mastex Industries site on Bigelow 
Street in the heart of Holyoke. Construction of the center began in the 
fall of 2010; and the two-story, 90,000 square foot complex is expected 
to be completed next year.
  This facility will be New England's first high performance computing 
center. It will feature computers with high speed and the capacity to 
process extraordinary amounts of data. When it's complete, it will be 
among the 500 most powerful computer centers in the world.
  The Holyoke Center is a partnership between local universities--
University of Massachusetts, Harvard, MIT, Boston University, 
Northeastern University--and two private sector companies: the EMC 
Corporation, based in Hopkinton, and Cisco Systems.
  The center also received a $14.5 million New Market Tax Credit 
allocation, which is the critical component to financing this important 
project.
  I believe the Holyoke Center will be a catalyst for economic 
development in Holyoke and in western Massachusetts. It will employ 13 
permanent jobs and 130 research positions at various universities. It 
is expected to create 600 construction jobs.
  Without New Markets and the leadership that I've tried to offer in 
this program, Hot Mama's Foods, River Valley Market, and the Green High 
Performance Computing Center probably would not have been possible. New 
Markets is a good example of how public and private investment can be 
used to spur community and economic revitalization.
  I hope that we will stop wasting time, and with the other tax 
extenders that have to get taken care of, we will include an extension 
of the New Markets Tax Credit program as quickly as possible.

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