JOHN BOEHNER

It has been eight months since President Obama signed the job-killing government takeover of health care into law, leaving small businesses struggling to plan for the future with the prospect of countless taxes, mandates and regulations coming down the pike.  While Democrats initially claimed that ObamaCare would create “4 million jobs, 400,000 jobs almost immediately,” it is clear that the ill-advised ObamaCare law is only adding to the job-killing uncertainty facing the millions of small businesses Americans are counting on to create jobs.  Here are just a few examples of how ObamaCare has had a negative impact on small business job creation in the eight months since it was rammed through Congress by Democrats over the objections of the American people:

• Burying Small Businesses Under a Mountain of Paperwork.  One of ObamaCare’s most egregious job-killing provisions is the 1099 mandate that requires small businesses to file IRS paperwork for any purchase of $600 or more.  Small Business Administration Chief Counsel for Advocacy Dr. Winslow Sargeant recently testified that “the Form 1099 provision would greatly increase the reporting and recordkeeping burdens on small businesses … Most small businesses do not have specific personnel available to create and manage such a system, and the costs of compliance will be daunting.” (Testimony, 11/18/10).  Dr. Sargeant’s testimony has been echoed by several small business owners, including Chip Rankin, President and owner of Delaware-based EBC Carpet Services Corp, who said ‘The lawmakers are going to have to find a way to pay for this thing that they’ve created, but is it going to help? No,’ … ‘There are going to be a lot of businesses that are small and mid-sized that will hurt from this.’ … ‘We’ve got it coming and going,’ he said. ‘A portion of some of my workers’ jobs will now have to go toward taking care of this.’” (The News-Journal, 10/31/10)

• Fueling the Economic Uncertainty That is Making it Harder to Create Jobs.  Small business owners across the country are speaking out against the uncertainty caused by the massive ObamaCare law, which is making it impossible for them to grow or create jobs.  “[Omaha Friendly Services owner Paul Fraynd] and Adam Kalyn, the company’s manager…said they have been fearful of what the newly passed health care legislation could mean for the firm. … ‘I think (the health care bill) very much hurts small businesses,’ Kalyn said. … ‘It’s very adversarial to small businesses right now.’” (Omaha World-Herald, 11/7/10)  “Ron Ruff, president of Winfree, Ruff & Associates … said he is concerned about potential penalties that could be assessed to his business for not fully complying with the new [health care] guidelines. ‘My concern is a lot of these regulations aren’t written yet. Weekly, monthly, we hear new things come out.  It’s a big unknown in the future,’ he said.  ‘There’s a lot of unknowns; that’s the scary part about this.’” (The Lancaster Eagle-Gazette, 11/7/10)

• Jeopardizing Coverage for Four Out of Five Small Businesses.  In mid-June, the Obama Administration released an 83-page document laying out a new set of government regulations that will force employers to comply with all ObamaCare mandates if they make even modest changes to their existing plans.  As The New York Times reported, “Although President Obama and many Democrats promised during the health care reform debate that ‘if you like your health plan, you can keep it,’ the health insurance plans that are now offered by small businesses probably will not survive the transition to a regulated marketplace. The Obama administration acknowledged this…when it proposed regulations for determining what insurance plans can remain exempt from market reforms.” (The New York Times, 6/15/10)  “In fact, upwards of 80 percent of small employers could possibly lose the plan they chose by 2013 because of new rules issued by the Administration.” (National Federation of Independent Businesses)

• Penalizing Employers for Hiring New Workers.  “Health care reform…has prompted one north state restaurateur to put his expansion plans on hold. … Bruce Dean of the Black Bear Diner…said he had envisioned opening 10 new restaurants in California over the next three years.  But the businessman says the new requirement that businesses with more than 50 employees that don’t offer insurance coverage will be assessed a $2,000 annual fee for each full-time worker changed his mind. … Dean, a California Restaurant Association board member, said restaurants on average make about $1,800 per employee.  ‘So you throw a $2,000 per employee fine for not covering employees and you will find the marginal restaurants, the low-profit restaurants, will probably close,’ said Dean, whose Black Bear chain has nearly 50 locations. ‘In our industry it will be very painful.’” (Redding Record Searchlight, 11/21/10)

REPEALING OBAMACARE AND REPLACING IT WITH BETTER SOLUTIONS.   With the Pledge to America, Republicans made clear their commitment to repeal the job-killing ObamaCare law and replace it with better solutions, including: enacting medical liability reform, granting consumers freedom to purchase coverage across state lines, expanding Health Savings Accounts, strengthening the doctor-patient relationship and ensuring access for those with pre-existing conditions.   Recently, dozens of lawmakers, including Speaker-designate John Boehner (R-OH) and 63 House Members represented by the American Center for Law and Justice, have also joined the fight to repeal ObamaCare through a court case - brought by 20 states and the National Federation of Independent Businesses, the nation’s largest small business organization - challenging the constitutionality of the individual mandate at the heart of ObamaCare.   Republicans will continue standing with small businesses and fighting to repeal this job-killing law to give entrepreneurs the freedom and certainty they need to put Americans back to work.