Representative Todd Tiahrt - 4th Congressional District of Kansas

| EC2 Home |

Todd Tiahrt with Speaker Hastert standing left and Majority leader DeLay standing on the right

Todd Tiahrt, Chairman of the Economic Competitiveness Caucus, speaks about spurring innovation on Capitol Hill with House Speaker Dennis Hastert (left).

America has always been a land of innovative entrepreneurs, hard working laborers, dedicated professionals and the most productive industries.

Today, our regulatory, judicial and tax environments are impeding businesses from prospering here. Sending jobs oversees is not simply a result of lower wages, and it is time we recognized that fact.

Recognizing this reality, Representative Tiahrt began working with House Leadership in late 2003 to unveil a competitiveness initiative that would focus on specific areas where the federal government could remove barriers to economic competitiveness for U.S. businesses.

The competitiveness initiative addresses eight areas in which U.S. businesses currently face obstacles in productivity and competition abroad. By passing legislation within these eight areas, Congress and the federal government can take steps to restore our nation's competitiveness and ensure that the United States remains the land of opportunity.

From this initiative, Todd founded and is Chairman of the House Economic Competitiveness Caucus (EC2). EC2 seeks to help create a long-term favorable environment in which U.S. businesses will hire U.S. workers.

EC2 carefully examines issues facing America's ability to compete economically both now and in future years. It works to focus congressional efforts on removing the barriers to American economic competitiveness; develops economic goals for the future; and finds the paths to get there.

The Goal: More high-quality, high-paying jobs for today and future generations.

House Leaders have also tapped Todd to lead the competitiveness effort by naming him Co-Chairman of the Jobs Action Team. This group of thirty Members promotes legislation that keeps our economy moving forward and spurs economic growth and recovery. The Team has made significant progress in their ongoing focus on making America a more attractive place to do business. Thus far, the House has passed over 60 pieces of legislation to change the environment and bring jobs back to America.