Regulatory Relief the Solution For Growing Small Business

As I travel around the 3rd Congressional District speaking to business owners about what they need in order to grow their business, the number one answer is, “Get the government off our back.”

Truckers are concerned with Department of Transportation mandates and the cost of gasoline, construction companies lack credit from suppliers, and many businesses aren’t hiring full time employees because of the cost of health insurance under Obamacare.

Business owners are tired of the government red tape, regulatory mandates, and crushing taxes, which prevent them from operating in an efficient and cost effective way. As a result, many businesses are shutting their doors, cutting back operations, or laying off employees. Others are packing up and moving to more business friendly states. New York State has lost more than $1.6 million residents in the past decade; the highest loss of any state as a percentage of the total population. With the loss of residents, goes the loss of business, job creation, and economic growth.

For Long Island business owners, the burden of government overregulation will soon increase because of sweeping new IRS regulations. These regulations will force business owners to change the way they account for the cost to repair, maintain, improve, or replace equipment. The new rules will be difficult to administer and will place an increased burden on Long Island businesses.

Many of the government regulations that are strangling American business owners are created by nameless, unelected bureaucrats in government agencies, who are not held accountable for their actions. This needs to change. Unfortunately, my opponent, Congressman Steve Israel is content with the status quo. On July 26, 2012, Congressman Israel voted against a bipartisan anti-regulation bill, which would impose a freeze on new regulations if the unemployment rate exceeds six percent.

As your Representative in Congress I will propose legislation to mandate that each government agency conduct a complete accounting of all regulations they have enacted, so we know to what extent they are negatively impacting job creation across the nation, and here on Long Island. Included in this legislation will be the requirement for Congress to repeal those regulations that are determined to be overly burdensome to small businesses.

Additionally, all new legislation will need to include a detailed analysis of the unintended consequences that could negatively impact the economic growth of areas of the country like Long Island. This means the regulators have to come up with the rules and regulations first and Congress will approve or disapprove them before the legislation is enacted.

By eliminating the stranglehold government overregulation has had on small business, we can once again give business on Long Island, and across the country, the ability to grow, create jobs and stimulate our economy.