WASHINGTON— House Small Business Committee Chairman Sam Graves (R-MO) today issued the following statement after the President’s address to a joint session of Congress:

“Our nation is facing an unemployment crisis of historic proportions. No new jobs were created in August, keeping the unemployment rate at an alarming 9.1 percent.  Job growth in the two years since the recession is the slowest in postwar history. The dismal number for August, coupled with a downward revision of jobs in the prior two months, has pulled average monthly net job creation in 2011 to 124,000, which is a number that is far from what’s needed to meaningfully drive down the unemployment rate.

“Over the past 15 years, small businesses have generated nearly 65 percent of net new jobs.  Based on where the jobs in America have historically come from, any plan to reinvigorate our economy and add jobs must focus on providing a better environment for small businesses. What we hear every week from small business owners is that they need more certainty, which can only come from a more simplified and fair tax code, the end of tax hike threats, and a reprieve from onerous regulations.

“Considering tax incentives, infrastructure investment and assistance to local governments is something that the President and Congress will have to closely balance with the fact that our nation is facing massive debts that have led to an embarrassing credit downgrade and a weaker economic standing in the world.

“I am willing to work with the Obama administration to find common ground on proposals that make sense and are paid for without job-crushing tax hikes. We should work together to remove unnecessary regulations and unleash our industries and entrepreneurs to grow their companies, without extra government spending. The House has passed over a dozen ‘jobs bills’ and I hope that the Senate and President will look to pass these bills and identify other regulations to abandon.”

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