| Weekly Update from Sam |
Dear Friends,
This morning the U.S. Department of Labor gave another dismal report that the unemployment rate remained 9.1 percent for a third straight month in September.
Right now, small businesses are looking for any sign that progress is being made towards improving our economy. Rather, because of actions taken by this administration, both consumers and business owners are feeling less and less certain that an economic recovery is imminent.
Washington must do more to remove barriers for private sector growth by providing more certainty through lowering tax rates, eliminating onerous regulations and living within our means.
House Republicans have passed over a dozen separate ‘jobs’ bills that can grow our economy and help create jobs right away. In fact, we passed legislation yesterday that will eliminate excessive government regulations that threaten thousands of American small business jobs in the cement manufacturing industry -- the Cement Sector Regulatory Relief Act (H.R. 2681). Rather than delivering campaign-style rally speeches around the nation touting his all-or-nothing plan, the President should encourage Senate Majority Leader Reid to act on the House-passed bills sitting in the Senate right now.
Sam Graves
Chairman
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Latest Committee Action
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On Wednesday, House Small Business Committee Chairman Sam Graves (R-MO) held a full committee hearing to examine decisions and proposed rules by the Department of Labor and the National Labor Relations Board that some fear disadvantage small businesses in union organizing drives. Witnesses pointed out recent cases where the NLRB has had an activist agenda that favors unions, waters down competition and subjects small businesses to unwarranted federal intrusion.
On Thursday, Contracting and Workforce Subcommittee Chairman Mick Mulvaney (R-SC) held a hearing to address the challenges small businesses face with subcontracting, both when the small business is the prime contractor and when it is the subcontractor. Specifically, the Subcommittee examined problems with laws intended to prevent pass-through contracts, the issue of large prime contractors not fulfilling their subcontracting plans, and problems with the systems designed to track subcontracting. Similarly, on Tuesday, four people were arrested in a $20 million small business contracting scam involving the Army Corps of Engineers. This case is a prime example of why the integrity of the federal procurement system needs to be protected, so that the public has confidence in government contracts and small businesses have every opportunity to compete.
Next week, on Wednesday, a full committee hearing will be held on the small business impact from LightSquared’s use of its spectrum to provide broadband service near the Global Positioning System (GPS).
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Notable Op-Ed
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Threat of Lawsuits Will Make Unemployment Worse
By Chairman Sam Graves
October 7, 2011
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News From Washington
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On Tuesday, the House passed H.R. 2608, a continuing resolution (CR) to provide short-term funding for government operations through November 18, 2011 by a vote of 352-66. Also included in the CR, is an extension of the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program for the length of the CR.
On Thursday, the House approved the Cement Sector Regulatory Relief Act of 2011 (H.R. 2681) by a vote of 262-161. This bill will protect cement manufacturers from new costly Environmental Protection Agency regulations that would threaten closure of over a hundred cement plants and kill thousands of American jobs. The legislation will also ensure the safety of public health and the environment—without sacrificing jobs.
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| October 7, 2011 |
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