Jobs & the Economy | Congressman Bill Posey :: Representing the 8th District of Florida

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Jobs & the Economy

We need a common sense plan for getting our economy back on track and that means creating an environment that allows businesses to expand so that the millions of Americans lacking work can find a good job. That means putting the brakes on new government regulations and red tape that stand in the way of job-creation.

A mountain of federal regualtions issued from just April 2011 to the present.

Stopping Over-Regulation - Right now bureaucrats in Washington are busy drafting more than 4000 new regulations each and every year with approximately 200 of these new rules adding significant costs to American businesses. These new regulations hamper job creation and create added burdens for American businesses. According to a September 2010 Small Business Administration study, the annual regulatory compliance cost for small businesses is estimated to be over $10,000 per employee. American businesses cannot prosper and create jobs under the mountain of new regulations coming from the Administration.

Rep. Posey has cosponsored and voted for passage of the REINS Act (H.R. 367), which passed with bipartisan support and requires all regulations with an economic impact of $100 million or more to come before Congress for an up or down vote. It’s just good common sense that when government bureaucrats decide they want to write a new rule that will cost the economy more than $100 million that they come to Congress to get approval. After all it was Congress that passed the legislation in the first place and Congress should have a role in making sure the bureaucracy does not go beyond what was intended. Recognizing that costly regulations are hampering our economic recovery, Rep. Posey also supported the Red Tape Reduction Act to put a moratorium on costly new regulations until unemployment falls below 6%.

The Stand for Tourism Act, which Rep Posey introduced, will boost local and statewide economic growth by reducing bureaucratic hurdles that make it harder for foreign tour companies to bring tourists directly into Melbourne International Airport. The Stand for Tourism Act was incorporated into legislation that passed Congress and was signed into law in March 2013 as a test program.

Putting the Brakes on Overspending - Washington’s out of control spending raises the cost of doing business, threatens higher taxes, and undermines our country’s future prosperity. As interest rates rise, the cost of interest on the $17+ trillion national debt will threaten every aspect of federal spending. What Washington needs is a long-term plan to control spending, balance the budget and begin paying off the national debt.

Rep. Posey has cosponsored and supported a Constitutional Balanced Budget Amendment and believes that today’s overspending will be our children and grandchildren’s burden to bear in life. Rep. Posey also voted against sequestration, which takes a meat-axe approach to making budget cuts rather than eliminating duplicative programs, wasteful spending and fraud.

Creating an Environment Where Businesses Can Create Jobs - Similar to over-regulation, the threat of higher taxes hangs over America’s job-creators and entrepreneurs, making it less likely that they will be able or willing to invest in new businesses and innovations that generate new jobs. Let’s not forget that it’s small businesses, not government, that serves as the engine that drives America’s economy, creating up to 70% of new jobs.

Rep. Posey introduced bipartisan legislation called the Common Sense Economic Recovery Act (H.R. 927) to aid economic recovery by preventing federal bank regulators from arbitrarily penalizing small community banks and credit unions when they work with borrowers to modify their loans or accept mortgage payments from someone other than the borrower (like a parent or in-laws). Small community banks are the lifeblood of small businesses and our communities and they should not bear the brunt of harmful regulatory burdens.

Energy Independence and Abundance – Energy security is a key to economic growth in the United States. The higher gas prices that have been endemic throughout the Obama Administration have hampered economic growth. Let’s face it, if $3.40/gallon gasoline forces the average family to spend an extra $100 a month on filling the gas tank, that’s $100 less they can spend at the local store, at the mall, or dining out. Multiply that across every family in America and you see the serious adverse impact that higher energy costs have on our overall economy. Rep Posey supports development of American oil and natural gas and the Keystone Pipeline to bring Canadian oil to U.S. refineries. Developing American oil and gas also means putting less money in the hands of Middle East countries that do not have our best interest in mind.

Lowering Taxes and Reforming the Code for American Families and Individuals – Allowing Americans to keep more of the money that they have earned, is a much better approach to spurring economic growth and job creation than sending it to Washington in the hopes that some government bureaucracy will find a way to let it trickle down to Main Street. Rep. Posey has cosponsored legislation that reforms the tax code and lowers taxes on individuals, families and American businesses.

He is a cosponsor of H.R. 25, the Fair Tax Act, and H.R. 352, the Tax Code Termination Act which will bring about a simpler and friendly tax code so all Americans can prosper.