WASHINGTON, DC – House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) today called on President Obama to address a National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) report – prepared by independent accounting firm Ernst & Young – showing that the president’s January 1 “fiscal cliff” tax hike will significantly impact small businesses in America and destroy more than 700,000 U.S. jobs:

“President Obama is demanding a tax increase that a National Federation of Independent Business report confirms will hit many small businesses and destroy more than 700,000 jobs, a fact he refuses to deny or discuss.  His failure to personally address this report is characteristic of a president who has failed to lead on the economic challenges facing middle-class families and small business owners.  With so many jobs at stake, Americans deserve an answer from President Obama regarding Ernst & Young’s findings about the dire consequences of his small business tax hike.  If the president is concerned small business owners will discover he isn’t looking out for them, that ship sailed when he told our country’s job creators, ‘you didn’t build that.’

“As Americans continue asking ‘where are the jobs?,’ the Republican-led House has acted to stop the president’s small business tax hike and lay the groundwork for a pro-growth tax code that keeps jobs here and brings home jobs driven overseas by his policies.  We know what needs to be done to get our economy moving again, but we need a president willing to listen and lead, and this president is doing neither.”