On the recordDecember 7, 2011
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I could not disagree with the gentleman from Georgia more. It's obvious which one of us has run a business and which one is talking about a business. The reality of the regulatory impact on businesses is huge. All you have to do is ask small business owners in any of our congressional districts if they can get credit because of the newly improved FDIC rules on lending. They will tell you they can't. They can't get credit because of the new regulations, and banks are being consolidated and are going under now. We're finding a rash of environmental regulations throughout the Ohio Valley. Machine tool operators, steel mill operators and other manufacturers say over and over that they will be out of business if the cap-and-trade carbon regulations are imposed by the EPA. These are facts. Health care right now is imposing hiring freezes with the Affordable Care Act. Once again, there is no reason under any circumstances that we should exempt major regulations that do, indeed, have a real impact on hiring, investment, job creation, and especially on an individual who wants to take the risk to start a business. Congress should not abdicate its authority any longer regarding these rules. We should step up to the plate and be accountable. If we do so, jobs will be created as a result.





