Steve Southerland: “I rise in support of this legislation. As a third-generation small business owner following the footsteps of my father…”

“I rise in support of this legislation. As a third-generation small business owner following the footsteps of my father and my grandfather, I understand how crushing the tax burden is going to be upon small business. The NFIB estimates that 1.6 million jobs will be lost by 2014 due to this insurance mandate; 66 percent of those job losses will occur in small business. James Edens, the owner of Edens Heating and Air in Tallahassee, stated to me that he will not hire, he cannot hire additional staff, due to the uncertainty. Repealing this legislation will provide much-needed certainty to small businesses around this country, allowing them to hire and invest in their employees.”