[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 142 (Thursday, September 22, 2011)]
[House]
[Page H6352]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  PRESIDENT OBAMA'S AMERICAN JOBS ACT

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Mississippi (Mr. Nunnelee) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. NUNNELEE. Madam Speaker, we continue to suffer from an 
unemployment rate of over 10 percent, and America saw zero job growth 
in the month of August. Our Nation has a jobs crisis. So why is the 
Obama administration making it so difficult to create jobs?
  Not only do we have a jobs crisis, but we also have a debt crisis. 
These two things are interconnected, and we certainly should not make 
one worse while making the other better.
  The President has outlined his $447 billion jobs plan, and it's 
essentially stimulus number two. It's the same recycled ideas that 
clearly didn't work from the last $800 billion stimulus. At the same 
time, the President wants to pay for his plan with $1.5 trillion in new 
taxes.
  It's estimated that small business owners would pay over half the 
taxes raised under this proposal, ultimately hitting our employers the 
hardest and creating an even worse environment for private sector job 
growth.
  Tax increases destroy jobs. They're not an option.
  Now, there are some issues we agree on. For example, infrastructure 
funding. That's an appropriate function of government. It's something 
we could do to boost a sagging economy. But the problem is mistrust. 
With the President's first stimulus, little went to actual 
infrastructure development.
  Now, we agree that we must move forward on the three free trade 
agreements. By passing those agreements with Colombia, Panama, and 
South Korea we'll increase competitiveness of American manufacturers 
and have an increase of 250,000 American jobs.
  While we can find common ground on a few things, the President 
continues to show reluctance on impacting entitlement program solvency. 
His proposal seeks to strengthen the independent advisory board which 
was created by ObamaCare. This board of unelected bureaucrats was given 
way too much authority in the first place to determine what benefits 
are covered and how much physicians are paid.
  The best way to control costs in Medicare is to increase choice and 
competition, not by empowering a group of unelected bureaucrats.
  The Obama administration has created a triple threat of out-of-
control spending, excessive regulations, and higher taxes. And these 
three things have resulted in an environment that has destroyed the 
confidence and prevented job creators from hiring.
  Washington must create an environment favorable to job creation and 
focus on removing this triple threat. First, we must continue to fight 
to rein in Washington's unrestrained spending.
  This fall, the Congress will deal with a balanced budget agreement 
which would finally force Washington to live within its means and do 
what families, businesses, and local and State governments are already 
required to do, and that is balance their budgets.
  We must focus on regulatory relief. Just recently the House passed a 
bill that would prohibit the National Labor Relations Board from 
dictating where an employer can and cannot locate jobs in the United 
States. Employers need to be allowed to invest in the State that offers 
the best economic climate for job creation.
  This week we're going to vote on the TRAIN Act.
  The Obama EPA has imposed unnecessary and burdensome regulations on 
businesses, and we want to determine how those regulations affect 
electricity prices, fuel prices, and unemployment.

                              {time}  1050

  The TRAIN Act will help uncover exactly how much the EPA is costing 
Mississippi consumers, farmers, small businesses, and State and local 
governments. These are just a few examples of the frustrating 
regulations that have come out of the Obama administration.
  Lastly, we must concentrate on tax reform. The Joint Select Committee 
has the opportunity to lay the foundation for fundamental tax reform, 
but they must not enact tax increases. The American people don't need 
or want more solutions from the Federal Government. They want the 
Federal Government to get out of their way.
  By tackling our spending problem, by removing excess regulations and 
by guaranteeing that taxes will not increase, we will unleash the 
American economy and give businesses the confidence they need to grow 
and create jobs.

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