[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 21 (Wednesday, February 8, 2012)]
[House]
[Pages H585-H586]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      GETTING AMERICA BACK TO WORK

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Illinois (Mr. Dold) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. DOLD. Mr. Speaker, small businesses are reluctant to expand 
today. With so much economic uncertainty, our local job creators don't 
know if they can afford the risk of hiring a new worker.
  As a small business owner myself, I know the pressures of meeting a 
budget and a payroll. I employ 100 people, and for me that's 100 
families. I have to make sure that I can ensure that we can provide 
health care insurance and other benefits before it is time to hire new 
workers.
  Mr. Speaker, there are 29 million small businesses in our Nation. 
Here, in this body, I believe our goal has to be to create an 
environment that enables those small businesses to have the confidence 
to be able to grow and thrive, to be able to add that one new worker. 
And think about where we would be at that point in time, Mr. Speaker; 
29 million businesses across the Nation all hiring just one worker, 
we'd have a different problem on our hands.
  The partisan rhetoric and the lack of progress in Washington is 
hindering businesses from hiring more people. But I do believe we can 
come together and tackle some of these problems. Washington has to stop 
viewing legislation through a political lens and start viewing it 
through the eyes of the American people.
  One area we can agree on is the payroll tax extension. The House 
voted at the end of the year to extend it for an additional year. The 
President has asked that we extend it for a year. The holdup is yet 
again in the United States Senate. Senator Harry Reid would rather play 
political games with this important measure, and now some Members are 
asking for a 2-month extension.
  Mr. Speaker, I say enough is enough. We need to extend this tax 
holiday for the entire year. Small businesses don't have the luxury of 
hoping that we'll get it right. So let's come together today and pass 
the yearlong extension in both the House and the Senate. Let's give 
hardworking American taxpayers the relief that they need.
  Mr. Speaker, new regulations are also hindering small businesses from 
expanding. Hundreds of pages of new regulations in the President's 
health care law, hundreds of rules that have still yet to be written in 
Financial Services with regard to Dodd-Frank are hindering the 
financial services industry. Small businesses do not know what new 
rules are coming next; and, thus, they can't prepare for the future and 
job growth remains, at best, uncertain.
  But we can and must find common ground on regulations. No one is 
arguing for the elimination of regulation, Mr. Speaker. What we need is 
smart regulations. It's vitally important we

[[Page H586]]

have clean water, safe working environments, and rules to protect 
families' investments. Even the President has called for smarter 
regulations and repealing burdensome regulations that are around this 
Nation. We can repeal burdensome regulations that are nothing more than 
red tape and barriers for job creators. We can replace them with smart 
regulations that truly make our country better and give job creators 
the certainty they need to grow and thrive.
  Finally, Mr. Speaker, we must stop the enormous deficit spending 
that's going on right here in Washington, DC. This next year, Mr. 
Speaker, we're faced with another trillion dollar deficit. If my 
business, my small business back in Illinois, ran the way the 
government runs, I'd be out of business inside of the month. It's time 
we in Washington rein in this out-of-control spending. We cannot ask 
hardworking American families all across the country to live within 
their means but then turned around and allow Washington to take their 
hard-earned money and spend it without regard to the future 
consequences of our children and grandchildren.
  It's time we pass a budget that puts our country on a viable economic 
path forward. When we do this, it will signal to the rest of the world 
that we are serious about our economic health; and, thus, we'll be able 
to empower job creators to invest here at home and create jobs right 
here in our local communities.
  Mr. Speaker, I am optimistic about the future. I'm optimistic that we 
can do this, that we can come together. Spurring our economy and 
talking about growth isn't a Republican idea or a Democratic idea, but 
it is certainly an American idea. It's time that we put people before 
politics and progress before partisanship. It's time for us to work 
together today for the future of our country and get America back to 
work.

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