House Majority Leader Eric Cantor Delivers Weekly Republican Address

Statement

With millions of Americans still out of work and the economy only growing at a mere crawl, President Obama spent the past week insisting that our country should raise taxes on the very Americans who drive job creation: small business owners.

Americans know better. Higher taxes and red tape do not create jobs or help build businesses. Entrepreneurs do.

Majority Leader Eric Cantor delivered this week's Republican address on the House's action to stop the President's tax hike and roll back the burdensome regulations his administration has placed on America's small business owners:

"You know, it's odd that less than two years ago President Obama actually agreed with House Republicans that a tax increase on our small businessmen and women would hurt our economy. This raises the question: does President Obama now believe our economy is doing so well that we can afford to raise taxes on small businesses?"

Below is the full text of Leader Cantor's address:

"Hello, I'm Eric Cantor, the House Majority Leader, from Virginia.

"Throughout the country, whether I'm in my hometown of Richmond or on the road, I hear a lot from small business owners...people who have chased their dreams, taken risks and built a business. They tell me that they are deeply concerned about what Washington will do next. The threat of higher taxes and more red tape has our small business owners anxiously sitting on the sidelines rather than starting a new business and hiring another employee. They tell me they long for the moment when they can once again think about growing their businesses and hiring people.

"These men and women know what some in Washington apparently do not, that higher taxes and more regulations do not create jobs. Entrepreneurs do. Red tape and new taxes just make the job of creating jobs that much harder. This week in Washington, we saw a collision of two very different plans for economic growth.

"House Republicans, joined by 19 Democrats, passed a bill to stop the looming tax hike that will hit all Americans next year. On the other side of the Capitol, in the Senate, a Democrat-only plan to hike taxes passed. The President sided with Harry Reid and the Democrats, insisting that their plan to raise taxes was the answer for economic growth.

"But a recent independent study concluded that the President's tax hike could result in the loss of over 700,000 jobs.

"You know, it's odd that less than two years ago President Obama actually agreed with House Republicans that a tax increase on our small businessmen and women would hurt our economy. This raises the question: does President Obama now believe our economy is doing so well that we can afford to raise taxes on small businesses?

"Today, there are millions of Americans who are looking for work or trying to decide whether to open a new business. They are rightly frustrated by the lack of results in Washington. But I am hopeful that with the passage of a bipartisan bill to stop the tax hike in the House and with unemployment still above 8 percent that President Obama will return to the position that he embraced less than two years ago and agree that now is NOT the time to be raising taxes on small business job-creators and the hardworking taxpayers of this country.

"We have made clear our willingness to be here in Washington if the President and Harry Reid will finally decide to join us in a bipartisan solution to stop the massive tax hike.

"Watching the Olympics this week, I am reminded that one of things that sets America apart is that ordinary people have the freedom to accomplish extraordinary things. Every day I hear from Americans who are ready to do the extraordinary... open a new business… create new jobs… build a better future for our children and theirs. All they ask is that Washington get out of the way. After over 40 straight months of 8 percent-plus unemployment, isn't it time to make jobs priority one?

"While we continue to work to provide solutions here at home, we wish our athletes in London the very best. Thank you for joining me."

Source