[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 14]
[House]
[Page 19830]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                     RAISING TAXES ON JOB CREATORS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Illinois (Mr. Dold) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. DOLD. Mr. Speaker, yesterday it was announced that a small 
business in my district will be closing two locations in Illinois and 
transferring those jobs out of State. I believe at this time, they are 
taking them to Texas. But we have seen this story over and over again, 
whether it be taking jobs to Wisconsin, whether it's taking jobs to 
Indiana. I believe this speaks volumes about the economic situation not 
only in Illinois but in our Nation and the policies that I believe that 
this body must put in place in order to empower small business owners 
and job creators all across the land to be able to have confidence, 
invest in their business, and grow jobs.

                              {time}  1030

  You see, the difference in the State of Illinois is that in Illinois 
we raised taxes on businesses over 45 percent this last year. It put 
enormous pressure on small businesses throughout the State, and I would 
argue all job creators throughout the State. What is even worse, Mr. 
Speaker, is that those companies that have more employees and a little 
bit higher clout have been able to rattle the saber and call the 
Governor and say we're going to pick up and leave the State of Illinois 
and take jobs elsewhere. While we want to make sure that we keep those 
jobs in Illinois, the unfortunate thing is we have got some crony 
capitalism going on, so the State is going to bend over backwards to 
make sure some of the larger employers stay in the State of Illinois.
  The problem is that small businesses, the ones that I talk to each 
and every day, when they call the Governor, they don't get their phone 
calls returned. It, indeed, puts a greater burden on small businesses. 
And as you know, Mr. Speaker, two-thirds of all net new jobs are 
created by small businesses all across the land. This is the economic 
engine that we need to make sure that we are supporting, to make sure 
that we are putting more Americans back to work.
  There are 29 million small businesses in our Nation. If we can create 
an environment right here in Washington, D.C., and you hear me say it's 
creating an environment, it's not creating jobs because the government 
doesn't create jobs; it's the private sector that does.
  But what the government can do is create an environment, whether it 
be through regulation, whether it be through comprehensive tax reform, 
whether it be through a variety of measures that enable those 29 
million small businesses in our Nation to create a single job. If half 
of those businesses created a job, Mr. Speaker, think about where we 
would be then.
  This is why the American people want Congress to act, and I think 
we've got a responsibility to reach across the aisle and find common 
ground. We need to get rid of the crony capitalism. We need to create a 
level playing field where businesses all across the land can compete 
and can win because this is an opportunity for Republicans and 
Democrats alike to put forward comprehensive tax reform, something that 
has been touted by the Simpson-Bowles Commission, touted by the 
President and touted by others.
  Well, it's time for action. We want to make sure that we move forward 
with this. We want to make sure that businesses can open their doors 
and create a level playing field. At the end of the day, it's about 
finding that common ground. It's about having government get out of the 
way and enabling the private sector to move forward so that we can all 
see America get back to work.

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