Rep. Bobby Schilling on GOP Jobs Plan & the ‘Forgotten 15’
Washington, Oct 28 -
Delivering the Weekly Republican Address, Rep. Bobby Schilling (R-IL) calls on President Obama to support the ‘forgotten 15’ jobs bills that passed the House with bipartisan support, but are stuck in the Democratic-controlled Senate. Part of Republicans’ Plan for America’s Job Creators, the ‘forgotten 15’ represent opportunities to build on recent common ground between the two parties. Rep. Schilling, a small business owner, is in his first term representing Illinois’ 17th Congressional District.
“Hello, I’m Congressman Bobby Schilling.
I’m a lifelong resident of Illinois, born and raised in Rock Island and now
living in Colona, where my wife Christie and I have raised our 10 children.
For the last 14 years, we’ve been the proud owners of Saint Giuseppe’s Heavenly
Pizza in Moline.
“Actually, my son likes to say he’s still not used to
seeing me dressed up after so many years of wearing flour and pizza dough.
It was a look I wore with pride – because it was our dream: a small, family-run
business. It wasn’t always easy, but it taught me a lot of what I needed to
know about how our economy works. And with unemployment in my state – also
the president’s home state – at 10 percent, there’s no higher priority than
jobs.
“But when I look
at things like the ‘stimulus’ policies coming from the White House, I think the
folks there could use a few weeks of wearing flour and pizza dough. They
need to understand the American small business owner.
“When you’re a small business owner, you’re a
troubleshooter – you identify a problem and fix it, so it doesn’t come back.
Temporary band-aids won’t do the trick.
“That’s why I’m proud to support
Republicans’ Plan for America’s Job Creators.
“Our plan looks at the problem from the
view of the small businesspeople, and works to clear out barriers to job
creation by addressing excessive regulations, fixing our tax code and closing
loopholes, and paying down our debt.
“This week, the House passed another
bill from the Republican jobs plan. It stops an IRS withholding tax that
would hurt companies doing business with the government. This bill isn’t
just a good idea – it’s a bipartisan one: it was in our jobs plan, and the
president’s jobs plan as well. I’m pleased it passed the House with
bipartisan support.
“Because jobs isn’t a Democrat issue or a Republican issue
– it’s a red, white, and blue issue. We owe it to the American people to
find common ground. We did it with the free trade agreements the president
recently signed and we’re doing it with the repeal of the withholding tax and we
can do more.
“Unfortunately, many of the jobs bills the House has passed
are stuck in the Democratic-led Senate. We call these bills the ‘forgotten
15.’
“Let me tell you a
little about them. These bills are common-sense bills that address those
excessive federal regulations that are hurting small business job creation.
They were written after listening to the farmers, manufacturers and small
businesspeople from around the country. A number of them have bipartisan
support. Yet the Senate won’t give these bills a vote, and the president
hasn’t called for action.
“Politics and pessimism won’t get America back on track. I
was disappointed to hear the president say at a campaign fundraiser this week
that Americans have lost ‘our ambition, our imagination.’ I respectfully
disagree. The people in my district are working harder, making more
sacrifices, doing whatever it takes. He’s more than welcome to come meet
some of them down at Saint Giuseppe’s.
“All they’re asking – all you’re asking
– is that we listen and get government out of the way so our economy can get
back to creating jobs. My colleagues and I in the House are doing
everything we can to make that happen.
“Republicans have a jobs plan, one with some bipartisan
support, but it’s stuck in the Senate. We’re asking President Obama to
work with us and call on the Senate to pass the ‘forgotten 15’ to help the
private sector create jobs, American jobs desperately needed.
“Let’s seize this
opportunity, let’s build on our common ground for jobs.
“You can learn more
about the Republican jobs plan at jobs.GOP.gov. Thanks for taking time
and have a great weekend.”