Obama / WH Rhetoric On Working With Business Doesn't Match Reality Of Job-Stifling Policies

by Lisa Benson at Townhall/td>

Today in Washington, D.C. - Feb. 7, 2011 - The Senate will reconvene this afternoon at 2 PM today and will resume consideration of S. 223, the FAA reauthorization bill. At 4:30 PM, the Senate will proceed to executive session to consider 3 district court nominees. Following an hour of debate, the Senate will vote on confirming the nominees.

President Obama spoke at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce today where he urged cooperation and asked business leaders to support his economic agenda. The Wall Street Journal noted the Chamber includes “some of his toughest business critics” and points out, “Chamber and White House officials clashed during Mr. Obama's first two years in office over the president's health-care and financial-markets regulatory overhauls, as well as environmental rules and tax policies.”

Yet the president’s outreach to the business community seems to once again be more rhetoric than reality. According to the AP, “White House officials say Obama's speech will not break new policy ground, nor will he offer an olive branch.”

Indeed, today’s speech appears to be part of a pattern where President Obama will double down on policies harmful to business and job creation like his unpopular health care bill, the complicated Dodd-Frank financial reform bill, or EPA regulation of greenhouse gases, but then the White House will declare a new outreach to the business community to smooth things over.

One year ago, The Washington Post reported, “Declaring himself an ‘ardent believer in the free market,’ President Obama tried to rally business leaders Wednesday to support the administration's goals of health-care reform, climate legislation and financial regulation.” In July of last year, after Democrats in Congress pushed through the health care and financial regulation bills, Politico wrote, “The White House has launched a coordinated campaign to push back against the perception taking hold in corporate America and on Wall Street that President Barack Obama is promoting an anti-business agenda.” In November, The Washington Post wrote, “President Obama is moving to cool down his war with the United States Chamber of Commerce, one of the most bitter political feuds of the last two years.” And a month later The Post reported, “The Republicans in Congress aren't the only people the White House is trying to make peace with. President Obama will meet Wednesday with a group of 20 chief executives, including the heads of American Express, Google and UBS, as he continues a persistent but at times unsuccessful effort to win the business community's trust.”

And yet little has changed in the way of policy. As the WSJ reported last month, “President Barack Obama's government-wide review of federal regulations will have little effect on two of the president's major regulatory victories: an overhaul of Wall Street and the health-care market, according to a White House budget official.” And according to a report in today’s Journal, “The Environmental Protection Agency, which enforces rules that affect the U.S. economy from factories to farms, is the No. 1 target of complaints from business groups collected by House Republican leaders. EPA rules were cited more than those from any other agency in more than 100 letters sent by trade associations, businesses and some conservative groups to House oversight committee chairman Darrell Issa (R., Calif.) in response to his call for businesses to identify regulations they deemed burdensome, according to documents reviewed by the Wall Street Journal.”

The Washington Post adds, “The Post reviewed more than 200 letters and reports that businesses sent to Issa targeting regulations across the federal government. The rules under scrutiny include familiar issues such as greenhouse gas emissions, health-care reform and the landmark Wall Street overhaul. . . . In their letters, business leaders express alarm about the slow pace of the economic recovery and what they characterize as the growing role government is playing in the private sector. ‘Business owners remain on edge regarding the tidal wave of federal government regulation that has been advanced or proposed over the past two years. . . .The pain of the harsh recession was intensified and lengthened by this hyper-regulatory environment,’ Karen Kerrigan, president of the Small Business and Entrepreneurship Council, wrote in a Jan. 12 letter to Issa.”

House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) responded to President Obama’s speech to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce: “President Obama has retooled his rhetoric, but not his job-destroying policies, which are eroding confidence, fostering uncertainty, and crowding out private investment. Far from changing tack, his administration is taking steps to protect the job-crushing regulations in its health care and permanent bailout laws, while plotting a backdoor national energy tax. Time and again, the Obama Administration has used its regulatory powers to go around Congress and impose hidden taxes on employers and small businesses. Instead of committing to much-needed spending cuts and reforms, President Obama has urged Congress to raise the debt limit and pass more ineffective ‘stimulus’ spending disguised as ‘investment.’  It’s clear from his policies that President Obama isn’t as interested in winning the future as he is in rigging it for big government.

“Instead of more regulations and more ‘stimulus’ spending, we need less spending, more freedom, and more certainty for those in America who create jobs.  With the Pledge to America, Republicans have a plan to get our economy back to creating jobs by stopping job-crushing federal mandates, cutting unnecessary spending, and ending the Washington spending binge.  This week, the new House majority will empower our committees to root out the rules and regulations that are making it harder to create jobs.  Last month, Congressman Geoff Davis introduced the REINS Act, common-sense legislation requiring congressional approval of any new regulation with an economic impact of more than $100 million. We’re also holding multiple hearings and seeking input from the nation’s employers and entrepreneurs as we work to free them from the tangle of red tape that undermines job creation.

“If President Obama is truly interested in what’s good for employers and best for our workers, he’ll listen to the American people and work with Republicans to break down barriers to job creation instead of creating new ones.”

With only 36,000 jobs added last month, it’s clear that more needs to be done to foster an environment where businesses can create new jobs. Unfortunately, the White House seems more focused on presenting the image of reaching out to business, instead of changing its policies that are stifling job creation.

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Tags: Washington, D.C., US House, US Senate, Barack Obama, rhetoric, Chamber of Commerce, business, jobs, unemployment, John Boehner, Lisa Benson To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!