By John Kline

Vicky and I live in the 2nd district so I may be a little biased, but from the peaks of Barn Bluff overlooking the Mississippi River valley in historic Red Wing to the woodlands and wetlands of Carver County, this area is home to some of Minnesota’s most scenic views. Unfortunately, the view from the main streets in our communities leaves something to be desired.  

While it is far from exclusive to the 2nd district or even the state of Minnesota, the sight of an empty storefront or vacant manufacturing plant is an eyesore visually and metaphorically. As unpleasant as the weeds defiantly sprouting through cracks and crevices of a parking lot that once held the vehicles of ambitious workers, it also serves as a painful reminder that unemployment remains above 9 percent nationwide. Last month marked the 28th consecutive month of unemployment at or above 8 percent – the level the President said unemployment would never reach if his stimulus became law. The so-called stimulus was based on the belief that in order to create jobs, you have to spend billions, if not trillions, of taxpayer dollars. When Americans needed a jobs plan, the President instead offered a spending plan.

Now, in the wake of the stimulus that became law in February, 2009, nearly 14 million unemployed Americans are looking for work. Additionally, more than 2 million Americans who desperately want to work threw their hands in the air last month and gave up their job searches. Too many Americans have seen their spirits broken, their hopes dashed, and their dreams killed.

It didn’t have to be this way.

Unlike many in Washington, Americans know that small businesses, families, and entrepreneurs – not Congress – are the key to job creation. Accordingly, I was joined by House Republican colleagues recently in rolling out a broad agenda for America’s job creators that will help create jobs and get our economy back on track. Our “Plan for America’s Job Creators” is based on the belief that free markets, free enterprise, innovation, and entrepreneurship are the foundation for economic growth and job creation in America. It addresses the economic challenges facing our nation, fosters innovation and investment, and helps job creators without raising taxes on working families and small business owners.

Rather than spending money we don’t have for costly, short-term economic gimmicks or passing new job-killing tax increases when we face the worst unemployment since the Great Depression, our plan restores confidence and certainty to the economy and creates jobs by:

• Empowering small business owners by reducing crushing regulatory burdens and red tape;
• Simplifying the tax code, lowering rates in a deficit neutral manner, and ensuring job creators will not face new, debilitating tax hikes;
• Promoting lower energy prices through increased domestic production;
• Increasing competitiveness for America by passing pending trade agreements;
• Encouraging entrepreneurship and growth by streamlining our broken patent system; and
• Bringing real certainty to job creators by ending Washington’s runaway spending and debt and putting on the path to balance the budget.

Throughout this summer, I look forward to hearing what constituents around the 2nd district think about the issues that matter most to them and how we can help workers and job creators. In the coming weeks, I will host roundtable meetings with small business owners and job creators, participate in public forums with civic and community leaders, and tour the plants and firms of Minnesota’s leading manufacturers. Next month, I plan to lead an energy tour showing the rich diversity of energy sources right here in Minnesota that can help create jobs and increase America’s energy independence. Later this summer, I look forward to hosting a jobs fair that will provide direct assistance to men and women seeking employment to support themselves and their families.

I hope you will join me in believing it can be morning again in Minnesota and throughout our great country. I look forward to an economic recovery in which more Minnesota men and women will go to work than ever before. To see that sunrise, we must roll up our sleeves and remain committed to taking every possible step to spur job creation and enable Americans to do what they do best: create, innovate, and lead. Together, we can work to reclaim a prosperous future for all Americans and now is the time to make it happen.

In his fifth term in Congress, Congressman John Kline is the Chairman of the House Education and the Workforce Committee. He also serves on the House Armed Services Committee.