[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 166 (Wednesday, November 2, 2011)]
[House]
[Page H7213]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         REPUBLICAN JOBS AGENDA

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Missouri (Mr. Long) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. LONG. Mr. Speaker, I came to Congress as a small business owner. 
And as any small business owner will tell you, the government can't 
create jobs, only the private sector can.
  I think it's easy to forget, but the United States Government does 
not have any money that it does not first take from productive citizens 
and businesses. When the government spends to create jobs, it has to 
take money from people who earned it and who would have spent it or 
invested it otherwise--the broken window effect, if you will. So the 
reality is that government spending trades productive private sector 
jobs for usually wasteful public sector jobs.
  With record unemployment affecting families across the Nation, now is 
not the time to increase the public sector on the backs of the private 
sector and increase the burdens on our small businesses. Small 
businesses are the engine that drives this economy, and it's time for 
the government to get out of their way.
  As part of the House GOP Plan for America's Job Creators, we've 
opposed the President whenever he wants to create new taxes or more 
regulations. So far this year, the House of Representatives has passed 
many bills that focus on job creation. These are real jobs bills that 
create real wealth-producing private sector jobs--not fake bills like 
the stimulus that didn't do anything but stimulate the national debt--
bills that empower small business owners, fix the Tax Code to help job 
creators, increase competitiveness for U.S. manufacturers, encourage 
entrepreneurship and growth, maximize domestic energy production, and 
pay down America's unsustainable debt burden. Some of these have passed 
the Senate and gone on to become law, believe it or not. The free trade 
agreements, for instance--for which I am especially proud.
  When 95 percent of the world's customers are outside of America, it's 
no surprise that jobs would be created as our companies are allowed to 
compete and expand on the world stage. In fact, it's estimated that by 
pursuing those agreements, we're creating up to a quarter of a million 
new jobs. Good jobs will be created right here in America at a time 
when jobs are badly needed.
  House Republicans have also tried to fix our Tax Code. Complying with 
our confusing Tax Code costs Americans billions every year--over $160 
billion in 2009 alone.
  We need to get Washington out of the way by simplifying the Tax Code 
and lowering tax rates. We need a Tax Code that is flatter, fairer, and 
simpler, a Tax Code that creates jobs by making America more 
competitive. That's why I'm proud Congress passed the Small Business 
Paperwork Mandate Elimination Act, which eliminated the 1099 form mess. 
The 1099 form created an unprecedented accounting and paperwork burden 
on small businesses across this country. A National Federation of 
Independent Business small business survey determined the form is the 
most expensive burden placed on small businesses by the Federal 
Government.
  Another House jobs bill that has now become law is the America 
Invents Act, a bill that brings long-overdue patent reform. So three 
free trade agreements, a tax reform bill, and a patent reform bill--if 
you're counting. Out of the many jobs bills, only those have escaped 
the graveyard of the United States Senate. It seems that some would 
rather campaign and complain instead of doing what we know will create 
jobs. We know that throwing money at problems doesn't solve a thing. If 
it did, then all of our problems would have been solved with the 
stimulus. We know that eliminating burdensome overregulation and 
restrictions on job creators is a sure fire way to create jobs.
  We need legislation that encourages entrepreneurship and growth. 
America has historically been on the cutting edge of innovation and 
technological development, but we are increasingly falling behind our 
global competitors. We must make it easier for existing businesses to 
grow and allow more start-up companies to flourish. That's why the 
Senate needs to pass the Reducing Regulatory Burdens Act, the Energy 
Tax Prevention Act, the Clean Water Cooperative Federalism Act, the 
Consumer Financial Protection and Soundness Improvement Act, the 
Protecting Jobs from Government Interference Act, Transparency in 
Regulatory Analysis of Impacts on the Nation, the Cement Sector 
Regulatory Relief Act, the EPA Regulatory Relief Act, the Coal 
Residuals Reuse and Management Act, and we need to fix the Tax Code.

                              {time}  1020

  The Gettysburg Address is 272 words; the Declaration of Independence, 
1,500 words; the Constitution, 7,200 words; the Federal Tax Code, 10 
million words.
  Our Tax Code needs to be fixed, and that's why the Senate needs to 
pass the 3 percent withholding rule repeal, which would repeal the 3 
percent withholding on our contractors' payments with Federal, State, 
and local governments.
  This job-killing requirement would create costly new work for 
Federal, State, and local governments and hold the money hostage from 
government contractors. The IRS needs to learn that hurting businesses, 
cities, towns, and consumers during a recession is not going to get our 
economy back on track.
  Much like the costly Form 1099 requirements that Congress repealed 
earlier this year, the 3 percent withholding rule would impose more 
burdens on cash-strapped employers and hurt job creation. Instead of 
focusing on job creation and economic growth, business and local 
governments will have to focus on enormous administrative and financial 
challenges.
  Just today, we learned the leadership in the Senate has been burning 
the midnight oil figuring out a way to even gum up this 3 percent 
repeal.

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