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Washington (Sep 3) In the Weekly Republican Address, Rep. Geoff Davis (R-KY) discusses one of Republicans’ better solutions to help small businesses create jobs after the latest unemployment report revealed that the Obama Administration’s “Recovery Summer” failed to materialize as promised. To rein in the barrage of mandates and regulations being handed down by Washington, Rep. Davis has proposed common-sense legislation requiring that Congress take an up-or-down vote on every new major rule before it can be enforced on the American people. This would improve the way Washington does business and restore checks and balances in our government. This idea is part of the national dialogue being fostered by the America Speaking Out project, which engages the American people in the creation of a new governing agenda for Congress. Now in his third term in Congress, Rep. Davis is a member of the House Ways and Means Committee.
“Hi, I’m Geoff Davis, and I work for the people of Kentucky’s Fourth Congressional District.
“Yesterday, Americans from coast to coast began their day with the news that our economy has lost jobs for three months in a row. The nation’s unemployment rate has now been above nine percent for 16 consecutive months. This is despite the fact that the Obama Administration promised that the trillion-dollar ‘stimulus’ would keep unemployment below eight percent. So the question remains: where are the jobs?
“The Obama Administration told the American people this would be a ‘Recovery Summer.’ But, our economy continues to lose jobs. Growth has slowed to anemic levels. Our national debt is growing by more than four billion dollars per day. So as it turns out, ‘Recovery Summer’ was nothing more than a meaningless slogan.
“Americans don’t want slogans, they want solutions, which is exactly what Republicans are offering.
“‘Stimulus’ spending, permanent bailouts, government takeovers, and federal mandates have all failed our nation. America’s employers are afraid to invest in an economy racked with uncertainty over what Washington’s next set of rules, regulations, mandates, and tax hikes will look like. This uncertainty is one of the main reasons our economy is not creating enough jobs.
“Republicans believe we need to get away from these policies and instead take action on common-sense steps to help small businesses get back to creating jobs. We’ve called on President Obama to abandon his plan to impose job-killing tax hikes on families and small businesses. We’ve urged Democratic Leaders in Congress to allow a vote on $1.3 trillion in immediate spending cuts. And we’re listening to the people, getting their input on ways to help our economy start creating jobs again. Today, I’d like to talk with you about one of those ideas.
“As we speak, the Obama Administration has lined up 191 rules and regulations that could each have an estimated annual cost to our economy of $100 million or more. That’s 191 layers of red tape waiting in the wings. Last year, the federal government issued 3,316 new rules and regulations – that amounts to more than a dozen per day. All of these rules go on the books without being approved by Congress.
“Many of these mandates affect small business owners who don’t have the resources to hire an army of lawyers and accountants to comply with all these burdensome regulations. The more time small business owners spend pushing paper, the less time they have to focus on creating jobs.
“The new health care bill is a perfect example of how unelected bureaucrats can wreak all kinds of havoc. This is a law that, upon its enactment, triggered the creation of roughly 160 boards, bureaus, bureaucracies, and commissions. It took less than four months for the feds to rack up 3,833 pages of regulations pertaining to ObamaCare.
“When Congress forces through controversial legislation by purposefully leaving blanks for executive agencies to fill in, unelected bureaucrats end up writing laws with no accountability whatsoever. This has to stop.
“Last year, a local resident came to me about a significant increase in sewer rates to help pay for storm water upgrades mandated by the federal government. Of course, Washington wasn’t offering to help pay for the upgrades – only issuing the orders to get them done. My constituent wanted to know whether Congress had any say in these new federal mandates before they were handed down. The answer was ‘no.’
“So with my constituent’s help, I introduced the REINS Act, a common-sense initiative that would require Congress to take an up-or-down vote on every new major rule before it can be imposed on the American people. This legislation would serve as a much-needed restraining order against unelected busybodies and bureaucrats whose actions could make it harder to create jobs.
“The sooner we rein in the red tape factory in Washington, DC, the sooner small businesses can get back to creating jobs and helping more Americans find an honest day’s work.
“I’ve also posted the REINS Act as an idea on America Speaking Out, a national initiative Republicans launched this spring to engage the American people in the creation of a clear and positive governing agenda. At AmericaSpeakingOut.com, Americans can share their own solutions or comment and vote on someone else’s.
“So what began as a conversation between a constituent and his congressional representative is now part of a national dialogue about a new governing agenda – an agenda Republicans will unveil later this month. These are just the first steps towards putting power back where it belongs: in the hands of the people.
“Visit AmericaSpeakingOut.com now to have your say and to share your ideas.
“Thank you for listening.”
AUDIO/VIDEO CREDIT: The House Republican Conference - Digital Communications visual.media@mail.house.gov 202-225-5439
TEXT CREDIT: gopleader.gov Contact H-204 The Capitol Washington, DC 20515 P (202) 225-4000 F (202) 225-5117
IMAGE CREDIT: CongressmanDavis
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