Press Releases

Members of the U.S. House Education and the Workforce Committee spoke on the floor of the House of Representatives today in support of H.Res. 72, a resolution that instructs various committees to investigate existing, pending, and proposed regulations that hurt job creation and economic growth. Members of the committee addressed various areas of education and workforce policies that are critical to advancing a strong economy and competitive workforce. The following are excerpts from those remarks.

Importance of the Republican Regulations Resolution

Chairman John Kline (R-MN): “Today’s effort is driven by a simple goal: to ensure every area of the federal government is dedicated to job creation. If we are to get the nation back to work, we all must work together to remove barriers to economic growth and prosperity. Every job matters, and every effort to help create a new job matters. The American people have demonstrated a relentless determination to make the difficult choices necessary to get through these tough times. We should do no less.”

The Cost of Federal Regulations on America’s Small Businesses

Rep. Tim Walberg (R-MI), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Workforce Protections: “Small businesses are the engine of job creation in the country.  Even the current administration believes that they ‘bear a disproportionate share of the federal regulatory burden.’ According to a report by the Office of Advocacy at the Small Business Administration, the total cost of federal regulations has increased to 1.75 trillion dollars.  The cost per employee for businesses with fewer than 20 workers now averages 10,585 dollars.”

A Job-Destroying “Gainful Employment” Regulation

Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC), Chairwoman of the Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Training: “This regulation will likely eliminate hundreds of course offerings and degree-granting programs at proprietary and non-profit institutions of higher education, preventing students from receiving access to these programs and, often to careers that will ensure that the United States remains competitive… The gainful employment regulation is the exact opposite of what the federal government needs to be pushing during an economic downturn.”

Investigating an Anti-Worker Culture of Union Favoritism

Chairman John Kline (R-MN): “A culture of union favoritism has seized the board, with consequences that reach into virtually every workplace. Stripping workers of their right to a secret ballot through a back-door card check scheme is just one looming threat… This same culture of union favoritism has also swept across the Obama administration – expanding protections for Big Labor at the expense of rank-and-file workers. ‘Project labor agreements’ and ‘high road contracting’ sound innocent enough, but they put small businesses and the vast majority of their workers at a disadvantage – all at the expense of taxpayers.”

NOTE: To read the text of H.Res. 72, click here.

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