[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 14]
[House]
[Page 19545]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                               JOBS FIRST

  (Mr. CANTOR asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Mr. CANTOR. Mr. Speaker, in these desperate economic times, Congress 
must undertake all of its actions with a watchful eye toward the 
effects on job creation; yet this, unmistakably, has not been the case.
  From the stimulus bill that just did not get it right, to the cap-
and-trade legislation, to now the ongoing effort to pass a health care 
bill on the backs of small business, the majority has put jobs on the 
back burner to muscle through an agenda, frankly, that is anathema to 
the American people. Slapping an additional 8 percent payroll tax on 
struggling small businesses that can't afford to pay for insurance 
doesn't create jobs; it kills them. Imposing a 5 percent surtax on 
small businesses, on America's producers, doesn't hasten our recovery; 
it prolongs it.
  The American people deserve an agenda that puts jobs first. That is 
why we ask the majority to work with us. Republicans do have a plan 
that can expand affordable coverage in health care. It will allow you 
to keep what you have and not do it by squeezing small business.
  I urge the majority to begin this with us. Let's start over. Let's 
get it right for the American people.

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