House Chief Deputy Whip Rep. Peter Roskam (R-Ill.) used the Republican’s weekly address to slam “hostile” federal regulations and urge President Obama to terminate those he called “barriers to job creation.”
In the Saturday address, the senior GOP lawmaker slams many federal regulations as “counterproductive,” saying the rules are merely “Washington’s busy work.”
“Small business owners are fighting every day to create and innovate, but continue to face government barriers to job creation,” Roskam said. “Among them: our unsustainable debt, the constant threat of higher taxes, and excessive regulations.”
Roskam noted Obama already has rolled back some federal rules that the White House, many Republican lawmakers and business leaders considered unnecessary or hurtful.
Obama "can help us fix this hostile regulatory environment immediately,” the deputy whip said. “He already canceled some counterproductive rules that hurt our economy, and he can cancel more.”
The weekly address also noted that House GOP leaders plan to hold votes on “several bills for a vote this fall aimed at cutting red tape and addressing the excessive, Washington-imposed regulations that hamper job creation."
Roskam did say some regulations are needed, however.
“Appropriate and responsible regulations help protect our health and safety,” he said. “But things have changed quickly – and for the worse.”
He said more than 4,000 new rules are coming, charging “hundreds … would cost our economy more than $100 million each annually.”
Roskam also highlighted two high-profile issues Republicans view as overstepping by the federal government: the National Labor Relations Board’s charges that a new Boeing factory in South Carolina violates labor laws; and federal agents’ raid on a Gibson Guitars plant over charges of using illegal wood materials.
“Stories like these are cropping up coast-to-coast,” Roskam said. “One Illinois farmer stood up at a town hall meeting last month and pleaded with the president. He said, ‘Please don’t challenge us with more rules and regulations from Washington.’ I couldn’t have said it better myself.”
The senior Republican highlighted the House passage this week of a bill that would fire a shot directly at the NLRB’s case against Boeing by mandating the board be unable to order a company to shutter a facility or move jobs elsewhere.
“We can take common-sense steps like these and still have rules that look out for our health and safety,” Roskam said. “What’s important is that these rules are effective and dependable. Job creators should be able to focus on their work – not on Washington’s busy-work.”
On the hot-button issue of jobs, Roskam called on Obama to urge the Democratic-controlled Senate to take action on “the dozen or so jobs bills we’ve passed in the House and ones that are on their way,” as well as another that would allow lawmakers to weigh in before new regulations are enacted.
