Floor Statements

Oklahomans are ready for Washington dysfunction to stop and for this country to get back on stable fiscal footing. We must make commonsense cuts to Federal spending that do not threaten public safety, national defense, or our economy.

There is plenty of waste that can be trimmed from the Federal budget. For instance, the free cell phone program that has angered a number of people across Oklahoma, including myself, will cost the Federal Government $2.2 billion this year alone, or the improper payments of $115 billion made by the Federal Government to people who were not entitled to receive those payments or who had not provided the proper documentation to qualify for the payments. This one item alone would more than replace sequestration.

Clearly, Federal spending is out of control, and it is not difficult to find ways to cut. But that will require strong leaders who are willing to look past the next election, put party aside and put country first.

Mr. Speaker, I come to you today not as a Republican or a Democrat, but an American committed to the United States Constitution. I regularly hear from my constituents who are fed up with the bipartisan fighting. We pledge allegiance to the United States of America, not our political parties. In President George Washington's farewell address, he said:

With slight shades of difference, you have the same

religion, manners, habits, and political principles. You

have, in a common cause, fought and triumphed together. The

independence and liberty you possess are the work of joint

councils and joint efforts of common dangers, sufferings, and

successes.

Washington was right. We are all united by common bonds. Although we have our differences, we are more alike than we are different.

In his address, Washington was not speaking to one party, but to all people of the young Republic. If we don't start putting this country first and partisanship last, we are going to ruin the country our fathers founded.

It is no secret that we are facing difficult decisions, but I am committed to working with any Member of Congress regardless of party, as long as they're willing to put country first.

I began running a business when I was only 20 years old. Back then, if you worked hard and followed the rules, you had a pretty good shot at getting ahead. Today, it seems the deck is increasingly stacked against those who work hard and pursue their own dreams, especially if you're a business owner.

More and more, businesses are faced with consistent uncertainty caused by Washington's inability to take action on today's pressing problems. The failure of uncertainty, with tax rates near chaos in the markets and a never-ending stream of impractical regulations, is a cloud of doubt that has been cast over the entire economy. For most business owners, it is a daily struggle just to keep the doors open in large part because the government itself is a consistent obstacle.

The National Federation of Independent Businesses recently released figures from December indicating the mood of businesses is at a recession level. Seventy percent of business owners that were surveyed identified the current environment as a bad time to expand, and political uncertainty topped the list for the reasons not to attempt economic growth.

Lee Buddrus, a resident of Muskogee, Oklahoma, and president of Acme Engineering & Manufacturing Corporation, told me that a lot of small businesses are struggling just because they had to go in debt to stay afloat during the recession. Mr. Buddrus went on to tell me, ``Now they're not able to make the kind of money they need to to pay down their debts,'' due in large part to the environment the government has created.

As a freshman Member, I join a small group of Members in Congress who have owned a business. I have felt the weight of the current hostile business climate and faced unprecedented difficulties in ensuring my business succeeded. I step on the floor of the United States House of Representatives with a firsthand understanding of how high the hurdles are for a business to succeed and just simply jump over.

Last month, when President Obama was sworn in to his second term, I was reminded of something he said 4 years ago, in his first inauguration. The President said:

The question we ask today is not whether our government is

too big or too small, but whether it works--whether it helps

families find jobs at a decent wage, care they can afford, a

retirement that is dignified.

Unfortunately, all we have seen from this President is reckless spending and heavy-handed regulation.

At the time of the President's first inauguration, the national unemployment rate was 7.8 percent. At the time of his second inauguration, it was exactly the same, and this month unemployment rose to 7.9 percent. While the rate of unemployment has been mostly stagnant, the national debt has not. In the past 4 years of failed Obama policies, the Nation has added $6 trillion of new debt onto the backs of citizens and businesses. Today, our national debt stands at $16.4 trillion. Broken down by American citizens, that's $52,210 for every man, woman, and child in this country.

We must get back on the right track and bring optimism into the business climate. First, we must pull back some of the regulations that bind the hands of our Nation's job creators. Second, Congress must make the difficult decisions we were elected to make and restrain government spending. Businesses cannot grow or expand in a climate of higher interest rates and higher taxes. Third, we have to be about creating a job-friendly environment.

I came to Congress as a businessman who simply got fed up with the government hindering my ability to create jobs. My mission every day is to make it easier for businesses to start to expand and to be successful.

In business, we know first you must face a problem honestly and then come up with real solutions that actually solve the problem. The economic policy of government trying to spend its way to prosperity has failed. Those of us in business know it's the private sector that creates real jobs, not the government.

Strong leadership and meaningful reforms are needed to move the looming

cloud of doubt from our economy. Adding more hurdles will not get this job done. It is time we as elected leaders lead. Sometimes it's lonely, but it's the right thing to do.