Promoting Job Creation and Reducing Small Business Burdens Act

Floor Speech

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Mr. FITZPATRICK. Mr. Speaker, I thank the chairman.

It is really hard to believe that a package of bills that comes to
the floor which individually passed the House 422-0, another bill
passes by voice vote, another bill passes 414-3, have become so
controversial--become so controversial why? Because they are about to
become law and they should become law. These are smart, technical
reforms to an overly burdensome law, Dodd-Frank, that are bipartisan.

All of these bills have Democrat and Republican cosponsors, all of
them have gained Democrat and Republican support in the committee and
on the floor of the House, and these bills should pass.

I want to thank Chairman Hensarling for his longstanding leadership
in reining in out-of-control Washington regulators that are hurting
small business and Main Street lenders.

Mr. Speaker, smart regulations allow the private sector to innovate
and create jobs while protecting taxpayers and consumers; however, one-
size-fits-all regulations hurt the economy by treating small- and
medium-sized companies as if they are large multinational corporations.

No Main Street small business, manufacturer, farmer, or rancher
caused the financial crisis; yet they are subject to thousands of new
pages of regulations that were supposedly designed for big Wall Street
firms. Mr. Speaker, that is not fair.

That is why I have introduced this bill. It is a bipartisan package
of commonsense jobs bills that provides regulatory relief to help grow
the economy from Main Street up, not from Washington down.

This bill is made up of individual measures that previously passed
either the House or the Financial Services Committee with overwhelming
bipartisan support during the 113th Congress. It is a recognition of
the fact that regulations, no matter how well-intentioned, can be made
more targeted and can be made more effective.

More than 400 new regulations imposed on our Nation's small- and
medium-sized companies impedes their ability to access the capital
needed to grow, innovate, and create jobs. These regulations may have
been targeting Wall Street, but their burden falls heavily on Main
Street.

That is what this bill seeks to fix. These legislative prescriptions
represent serious bipartisan commitments to make our regulatory system
more responsive to the needs of the workers and the local businesses
that we all represent.

The American people want Republicans and Democrats to work together
to strengthen our economy and help the private sector create jobs like
only it can. Good-paying jobs and greater opportunities are the
foundations of real economic growth, growth that is strong and growth
that is sustainable, growth that lifts people up from poverty.

That kind of growth can't come from Washington, and it won't happen
unless small business owners, entrepreneurs, and workers have the
freedom and the opportunity to use their God-given talents and
creativity to earn their success.

Mr. Speaker, there is a lot of talk in this town about bipartisanship
and finding middle ground here in our Nation's Capitol; yet, at this
very moment, groups on both the far left and the far right stand in the
way of even incremental progress by pulling Members of both parties to
the extremes.

I know that if things are going to get done in this body, it will be
from strong bipartisan support from principled, yet pragmatic,
lawmakers willing to put politics to the side and work together for the
common good. As someone who seeks out that course, I would like to
recognize those Members willing to look past the demagoguery and
misinformation in order to support this bill.

I have high hopes that this Congress can restore the faith of our
constituents in the legislative process and the role of Congress in
strengthening our Main Street economy, and we can start with this bill.

I urge my colleagues to join me in voting ``yes'' on the bill and, in
doing so, putting aside bill posturing in favor of bipartisan reforms
to get people back to work.

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