Volume 157, No. 84 covering the 1st Session of the 112th Congress (2011 - 2012) was published by the Congressional Record.
The Congressional Record is a unique source of public documentation. It started in 1873, documenting nearly all the major and minor policies being discussed and debated.
“THE ECONOMY” mentioning the Environmental Protection Agency was published in the Senate section on pages S3713-S3714 on June 13, 2011.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
THE ECONOMY
Mr. BOOZMAN. Mr. President, the latest unemployment numbers indicate that nearly 106,000 Arkansans are unemployed. This 7.7 percent unemployment rate is higher than when the so-called stimulus passed that President Obama and Majority Leader Reid promised would produce jobs for hard-working Americans. Although this rate is below the national average, the numbers show that out-of-work Arkansans continue to struggle to find gainful employment.
What is more alarming is that the President and the majority here in the Senate are resisting real change and insisting on more of the same borrow, spend, and tax policies that have given us record unemployment and a sluggish economy.
In November, Americans gave a clear sign that job creation needs to be a priority. Unfortunately, the Senate majority and President Obama have failed to prove that this is at the top of the agenda. Time and time again, the Senate and our President add to the uncertainty that is stifling job creation. Commonsense legislation that would create the conditions for job growth is not brought to the floor. It is not because the Senate has more pressing issues. There is no excuse as to why the Chamber avoids voting on legislative and policy items that will provide real relief for the unemployed, such as the stalled free-trade agreements.
As news reports have pointed out over the past several weeks, the business in this body is progressing at a historically slow pace. As the Washington Post reported last week, ``Quorum calls have taken up about a third of its time since January, according to the C-SPAN statistics.''
Americans are tired of the games. They need jobs, and it is our duty to help.
Linda from Mountain Home, AR, recently wrote to me asking the same thing millions of Americans want to know: ``Where are the jobs?'' She continued her e-mail asking what legislation Republicans introduced that will stimulate the economy and create jobs. I want to thank Linda for her letter and let her know my colleagues and I are on the side of the American worker, and that is evident by the legislation we have offered. These practical free market ideas will put Americans back to work, and, like the millions of Americans who are looking for jobs, we are anxious to vote on them and approve these measures.
In February, we introduced the REINS Act, of which I am a proud cosponsor. Too often, Federal agencies overstep their boundaries and enact expensive mandates that strangle investment and job creation without congressional approval. This commonsense legislation provides a check and balance between Congress and the executive branch and allows business to focus on growth instead of how to comply with burdensome regulations.
This starts with making changes to unfunded mandates by the Environmental Protection Agency. Unnecessary and burdensome regulations imposed on our businesses cost money and cost jobs. EPA has put a target on America's industrial, manufacturing, and agricultural job creators. Clean air, clean water, and conservation are all very important, but the heavyhanded regulations coming from this EPA have little or nothing to do with clean air or clean water. We are witnessing a Federal bureaucratic power grab on behalf of a radical, job-destroying agenda. These regulations are making food more expensive, energy more expensive, and gasoline more expensive, and they are driving jobs out of our country. Our competitors are taking our jobs and emitting far more pollution into our atmosphere and oceans than we would here in the United States. Again, it is all pain and no gain. As the administration works to drive up the cost of energy, they seem to forget that a prosperous country is a country that can invest in conservation and protect the environment.
The President still wants to blame his predecessor for our sluggish economy and lack of jobs. The blame game won't help the President politically, and it won't help turn our economy around. It is true that President Obama inherited a weak economy, but he made it worse. Before President Obama took office, the Federal Government was carrying out many policies that distorted the market and contributed to the meltdown. In 2008, we were spending too much money and running severe deficits. Now our deficit is three times as big. Sadly, President Obama has made each of our economic problems worse.
I believe it is important to provide American businesses with an equal opportunity to compete and succeed while opening new markets for American products. I strongly believe that when presented with a level playing field, American businesses and workers can outperform any in the world in terms of quality and value.
With three pending trade agreements on the table waiting for approval, we are wasting precious time and resources at our disposal to open foreign markets to U.S. products. The lack of action on the Colombia, Panama, and South Korea agreements is concerning. I believe we need to move forward as quickly as possible to ratify these policies. American companies and their workers are losing market share and are being denied valuable business opportunities. That is why one of the first pieces of legislation I cosponsored as a Member of the Senate was S. Res. 20, legislation that urges this Chamber to consider and approve the pending free-trade agreements with these countries.
On multiple occasions, President Obama expressed support for the implementation of all of these trade agreements in order to reduce our Nation's deficit and create American jobs for American workers. So far, there is still a failure to act on any of these agreements.
Americans deserve legislation that will promote job growth, but one of President Obama's legislative cornerstones, health care reform, actually costs jobs. We were told ObamaCare would create 4 million jobs, but reality tells a different story.
According to the Congressional Budget Office, there will be 750,000 fewer jobs. This legislation is bad for business. That is why we voted to eliminate the onerous 1099 reporting requirements included in this flawed legislation.
I will continue to fight for a full repeal of this law as we seek meaningful health care reform that provides quality, affordable access for all citizens based on free market principles.
The simple truth is there are 14 million Americans out of work and millions more who have been forced into retirement or gave up looking for a job. These 14 million Americans are calling for our help, yet the majority and the administration continue to ignore their pleas.
We have a plan that is ready to move, and the practical free market ideas it is based upon will put Americans back to work. Let's show Linda in Mountain Home and the millions of Americans looking for a job that we are working to change the direction our country is headed and be a job creator.
Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.
The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The clerk will call the roll.
The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
Mr. SESSIONS. I ask that the order for the quorum call be rescinded.
The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Coons). Without objection, it is so ordered.
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