On the recordJuly 23, 2012
In everything you've described--from the sports analogy, where people are afraid to go onto the field because they don't know the game, to the direct impact it has on all sorts of businesses--that also applies to our Nation's financial institutions. It's through our banks and credit unions that so many of our small businesses get off the ground, and that's how, oftentimes, they're able to sustain themselves during dips in the economy. Unfortunately, there is great uncertainty in the financial sector as well. We can cite a number of different things, but I put Dodd-Frank high on the list. I certainly hear that in my district. Let me relate to you a little story about the impact of regulations as they affect banks and how they, in turn, affect businesses in my district and around the country. I visited, not long ago, a business that manufactures food products, things like these little miniature pizzas that are frozen--you buy them at the grocery store--and little hot dogs with dough encrusted around them. It's actually an incredibly productive manufacturer of these things, and it has developed a lot of expertise. This company was on the verge of a major expansion. It would have created hundreds of jobs in my district and led to additional jobs because of the supply industry that would have supported this company. But Federal regulations got in the way. The company needed a $3 million bridge loan to get everything online and begin production. They were a dream sort of business.…





