Economy and Jobs
The issues of Economy and Jobs are important to our district and to my work in Congress.
As every American knows, our economy has been struggling in recent years. For over 21 months, unemployment has been at over nine percent, the longest streak since the Great Depression. Across the 29th Congressional District, every family has felt the impact of our economic crisis as they have struggled to make ends meet.
Congressman Reed is committed to ensuring that the federal government is working to make our economy stronger, and not crippling it with out-of-control spending, excessive federal regulations, or increased taxes.
As a small business owner, Congressman Reed knows firsthand the burden the federal government can place on job creators across the country. Small businesses, particularly in the Southern Tier and Western New York, are the key to ensuring our economic recovery. In fact, across the country, small businesses employ over half of all private sector employers and have generated 64 percent of new jobs over the past 15 years.
While the federal government cannot create private sector jobs, Congressman Reed is committed to ensuring that the barriers to growth are removed. This includes burdensome and unnecessary federal regulations that create uncertainty and raise the costs of doing business - in effect, excessive federal regulation becomes an additional tax on businesses. A key example of this is the 1099 requirement that was part of the health care legislation passed by the Democratic Majority, which places an additional paperwork burden on small businesses and farms.
Additionally, Congressman Reed voted for H.Res. 72, which assesses the impact of federal regulations on jobs and economic growth by instructing House Committees to inventory and review existing, pending, and proposed regulations and orders from agencies of the Federal Government, particularly with respect to their effect on jobs. Congressman Reed is also a cosponsor of the REINS Act, which would require a vote of Congress on any rule estimated to have an economic impact of $100 million or more.