Congress Must Continue to Focus on Job Creation
Washington, D.C.,
Jan 18 -
The numbers show that our economy is still struggling to recover. Month after month over the past four years, we have learned that nearly eight percent of Americans continue to be unemployed and are still searching for work. Four out of five small business owners believe our economy is headed in the wrong direction. And the federal government’s reputation of taxing and wasteful spending continues to create uncertainty in an already weakened economy.
In spite of these figures, President Obama does not appear to be serious about real job creation. In fact, it has been an entire year since the President’s Council on Jobs and Competitiveness held its last official meeting.
It is up to Congress to continue its focus on job creation and enable small business owners to grow the private sector. With the new session underway, Congress must enact policies that help, not hinder private sector job growth.
While Congress acted to make tax rates permanent for American families and some small businesses earlier this month, there is much more that needs to be done to give our job creators the certainty they need in the tax code. Since 1993, small businesses have accounted for 65 percent of jobs created in America. I have long supported efforts to eliminate our current tax system and replace it with one that is simpler, fairer, and more certain. A competitive tax system will jumpstart our economy, create jobs, and encourage private sector growth. I will continue to push for tax reforms this year to achieve these goals.
Another way Congress can help create good-paying jobs is through the production of more American-made energy. It is critical to our economy to break down the bureaucratic roadblocks to America’s energy production and reduce our reliance on foreign sources of energy. As Chairman of the Natural Resources Committee, I will continue to advance these job-creating efforts by moving legislation that promotes responsible energy production on our federal lands and offshore. Just think, unlocking our domestic energy resources and increasing production would not only create millions of new jobs, but would also spur economic growth, generate new federal revenue to pay down our growing national debt, and lower energy costs for consumers and small businesses.
Over the last four years, this Administration has issued more than $500 billion in new, job-hindering regulations affecting industries from agriculture to manufacturing. The new, crippling regulations coming from President Obama’s Environmental Protection Agency alone are bringing industry production to a halt and forcing businesses large and small to lay off employees or shut their doors completely. This Congress must continue to build on Republicans’ efforts over the past two years to remove burdensome and redundant regulations that hinder small business growth.
As our economy struggles to recover, the Obama Administration continues to propose more of the same: increased taxes, more regulations, and bigger government. I remain committed to supporting legislation that offers real solutions towards restoring certainty in our country and getting Americans working again.
