Opinion: Weekly remarks: Obama says Congress must pass his jobs bill; GOP’s Roskam hits ‘red tape factory’
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President Obama’s weekly remarks, as provided by the White House
I’ve spent some time lately traveling the country and talking with folks outside of Washington. And the number one issue for the people I meet is how we can get back to a place where we’re creating good, middle-class jobs that pay well and offer some security.
That’s the idea behind the American Jobs Act. It’s a jobs bill that does two simple things: put more people back to work, and more money back in the pockets of people who are working.
This jobs bill puts construction workers back to work rebuilding our roads and bridges and modernizing our schools.
This jobs bill puts teachers back in the classroom, and keeps cops and firefighters on our streets.
This jobs bill gives tax credits to companies that hire our veterans, because if you sign up to fight for our country, the last thing you should have to do is fight for a job when you come home.
This jobs bill connects the long-term unemployed to temporary work to keep their skills sharp while they look for a job, and it gives hundreds of thousands of young people the hope of a job next summer.
This jobs bill cuts taxes for every small business owner in America. It cuts them even....
...more for small business owners that hire new workers and raise workers’ salaries. And it cuts taxes for every working family in America so that you’ll have more money in your pockets, and businesses know they’ll have customers to buy what they sell. That’s the American Jobs Act, and you can check it out for yourself on WhiteHouse.gov.
It will create new jobs. It will cut taxes for every worker and small business in the country. And it will not add to the deficit. It will be paid for.
On Monday, I’ll lay out my plan for how we’ll do that – how we’ll pay for this plan and pay down our debt by following some basic principles: making sure we live within our means and asking everyone to pay their fair share.
But right now, we’ve got to get Congress to pass this jobs bill. Everything in the American Jobs Act is the kind of idea that’s been supported by Democrats and Republicans before. And if they’re ideas you agree with, too, every one of you can help make it happen by telling your congressperson to pass this jobs bill right away.
I know some of them would rather wait another year to wage another election than work together right now. But most Americans don’t have the luxury of waiting. It was three years ago this week that a financial crisis on Wall Street made things much more difficult for working folks on Main Street. And too many are still hurting as a result.
So the time for action is now. No more games or gridlock. No more division or delay. It’s time for the people you sent to Washington to put country before party – to stop worrying so much about their jobs and start worrying more about yours.
It’s time to get to work and show the world once again why the United States of America remains the greatest nation on Earth. Thank you. #### Weekly remarks by Rep. Petyer Roskam, as provided by Republican Party leadership
Hello, I’m Peter Roskam. I serve as the House Republicans’ Chief Deputy Whip, and I have the honor of representing the people of Illinois’ Sixth Congressional District.
Like you, I’m frustrated with America’s jobs crisis: more than 650,000 people are out of work in Illinois, President Obama’s home state.
Small business owners are fighting every day to create and innovate, but continue to face government barriers to job creation. Among them: our unsustainable debt, the constant threat of higher taxes, and excessive regulations.
Today I’d like to talk to you about excessive federal regulations, how they hurt jobs and household budgets, and what we can do about it.
Let me start with this: appropriate and responsible regulations help protect our health and safety. But things have changed quickly – and for the worse.
Washington has become a red tape factory, with more than 4,000 rules in the pipeline – hundreds of which would cost our economy more than $100 million each annually. The disappointing reality is that what may be a faceless regulation to most can have a profound impact on local economies and families like yours.
Just one rule has Chicago White Metal Casting, a manufacturer in my district employing 240, fighting to survive in an already tough economy. Already facing a stream of regulations, they’ll soon face new regulations from unelected bureaucrats implementing a back-door national energy tax – after it failed in Congress.
Chicago White Metal Casting already has one employee who spends half his time dealing with existing federal audits, certification requirements, and complex paperwork.
By now, you’ve probably heard about the case of Boeing, one of the world’s leading manufacturers. This Chicago-based company invested more than $1 billion in a new plant in South Carolina that would generate thousands of good-paying jobs … only to be sued by the government and told that the plant can’t open. Who in the government sued them? No one that’s elected, I’ll tell you that.
No, Boeing is being sued by the National Labor Relations Board, which is charged with looking out for labor unions.
I’d also like to share with you the story of Gibson Guitars, a company that makes world-class guitars. Well a few weeks ago, Gibson was raided by 26 armed federal agents. No charges have been filed and regulators have not explained to the company what they may have done wrong or how to rectify the situation.
Well I’d like to know how job creators can be expected to prosper with the threat of a federal raid hanging over them?
Stories like these are cropping up coast-to-coast. One Illinois farmer stood up at a town hall meeting last month and pleaded with the president. He said, ‘please don’t challenge us with more rules and regulations from Washington.’
I couldn’t have said it better myself.
That farmer was one of several job creators who attended [the] president’s speech to the Congress as guests of House Speaker John Boehner.
Republicans are listening to America’s job creators and working to address their concerns with real solutions. In the House, Majority Leader Eric Cantor has scheduled several bills for a vote this fall aimed at cutting red tape and addressing the excessive, Washington-imposed regulations that hamper job creation.
This week, the House passed a bill to eliminate the barriers Boeing faces. It stops the government from telling an employer where it can – and cannot – create jobs.
We can take common-sense steps like these and still have rules that look out for our health and safety. What’s important is that these rules are effective and dependable. Job creators should be able to focus on their work – not on Washington’s busy-work.
In his speech last week, the president talked about the urgency of this moment. He said we can act ‘right now.’ I agree.
He can help us fix this hostile regulatory environment immediately. He already canceled some counterproductive rules that hurt our economy, and he can cancel more.
He can call on the Democrat-led Senate to pass the dozen or so jobs bills we’ve passed in the House and ones that are on their way. That includes the Boeing bill that I just mentioned.
There’s also the REINS Act, common-sense legislation that gives Congress a say before Washington imposes new rules and regulations. So instead of being circumvented, the people’s representatives should be able to hold accountable unelected bureaucrats who encroach on our freedoms and make it harder to create jobs.
I hope the president will consider our ideas as we take a look at his. Let’s listen to the people and find common ground to remove barriers to job creation. Let’s help small businesses return to creating jobs so that they can pick up where they left off instead of being left behind.
You can learn more about our jobs plan by visiting Jobs.GOP.gov Thank you for listening. ####
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