mr. speaker , today 's legislation contains a number of important tax relief provisions , including an expanded research and development credit to keep american innovation competitive ; and one supported by my friend from wisconsin , paul ryan , which would adjust the qualified veterans mortgage bond program and expand access to affordable home loans for california veterans who served after 1977 .  in addition , the bill before us includes a measure that i have long supported to facilitate greater small business growth .  small businesses are the backbone of our economy , representing over half of all jobs and economic output .  the section 17 extension in this bill will enable small businesses to write off new capital investment up to $ 100 , 000 per year , spurring further economic growth and helping to generate new jobs .  in 2003 alone , 4.6 million small businesses used $ 44.1 billion of section 179 expensing .  according to the national federation of independent businesses ' november report , 61 percent of small business owners reported capital outlays over the past 6 months , including new equipment and vehicle purchases , furniture purchases , existing facility expansion , and improvement in new facility construction .  small business expensing works and it helps drive job creation in areas like my own northern california congressional district .  unfortunately , the current expensing limits are set to return to significantly lower levels if we do not extend this provision .  mr. speaker , i would like to thank chairman thomas and the members of the committee for their support of small businesses , and i urge my colleagues to vote for the legislation before us today .  