Research Briefing

Obama Tries To Friend The Business Community As He Continues To Bury Businesses Under Job-Destroying Regulatons

“Obama, Who Has Had Frosty Relations With Business, Is Scheduled To Speak On Monday To The U.S. Chamber Of Commerce As Part Of A New White House Outreach Efforts.”  (Doug Palmer, “Republicans To Press Trade Representative On Obama Agenda,” Reuters, 2/2/11)

OBAMA’S ONEROUS REGULATIONS ARE STIFLING JOB GROWTH

Obama “Has Pressed Forward On Hundreds Of New Mandates, While Also Stepping Up Enforcement Of Rules” In “A New Age Of Regulation.” “Over the last year, the Obama administration has pressed forward on hundreds of new mandates, while also stepping up enforcement of rules by increasing the ranks of inspectors and imposing higher fines for violations. A new age of regulation is well under way in Washington ...” (Eric Lipton, “With Obama, Regulations Are Back In Fashion,” The New York Times, 5/12/10)

• Industry Leaders Say “Washington Has Been Overzealous About Imposing New Requirements. “But complaints from industry leaders are intensifying. Manufacturers, home builders, toymakers and others say that Washington has been overzealous about imposing new requirements, and they warn of serious consequences for businesses and consumers.” (Eric Lipton, “With Obama, Regulations Are Back In Fashion,” The New York Times, 5/12/10)

“Business Owners Remain On Edge” As A Result Of “Tidal Wave Of Federal Government Regulation.”  “‘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.”  (Philip Rucker and David S. Hilzenrath, “GOP Eyes Rules That Firms Say Hurt Jobs,” The Washington Post, 2/7/11)

• “The Obama administration has championed historic expansions of financial and health care regulation, and it has toughened a wide range of other rules.” (Binyamin Appelbaum & Edward Wyatt, “Obama Is Latest to Hunt for Elusive ‘Dumb’ Rules,” The New York Times, 1/21/10)

Businesses Are Worried About “How To Digest The Sheer Volume Of Paperwork” From ObamaCare. “There is also some concern about how to digest the sheer volume of paperwork. ‘There's administrative burden just to try and understand the 2,400 pages of the document,’ says Jenn Mann, vice president of human resources at software maker SAS Institute Inc.” (Dana Mattioli, “Firms Feel Pain From Health Law,” The Wall Street Journal, 12/13/10)

• Restaurant Owner Scott Womack Noted That ObamaCare’s Fees And Mandates Will Cost Him More Per Worker Than His Businesses Make. “Scott Womack, owner of 12 IHOP restaurants in Indiana and Ohio, told the committee that the law's mandate that he begin purchasing health insurance for his workers in 2014 is simply unsustainable. It will cost him $7,000 per worker to comply, he said, ‘more money than we make.’ The alternative, to pay a $2,000 penalty per worker, would still eat up 60 percent of his company's earnings, Womack added. As a result, he may be forced to forfeit an agreement to develop additional restaurants, for which he has already invested $360,000.” (N.C. Aizenman, “House Republicans Sharpen Attack On Health-Care Reform In Two Hill Hearings,” The Washington Post, 1/26/11)

In January, EPA Started Regulating Greenhouse Gases From Power Plants.  “The Environmental Protection Agency this week starts regulating greenhouse gases from power plants and other big polluters for the first time.  The rules only apply to new construction and major expansions, but they've become hugely controversial. Critics say they will drag down the economic recovery.”  (Elizabeth Shogren, “EPA To Enforce New Emission Rules On Power Plants,” NPR, 1/3/11)

• Chairman And Chief Executive Of Murray Energy Said “America, Our Industry And Jobs Are Under Siege By Mr. Obama And His U.S. EPA.” “Murray Energy, a coal-mining company in Alledonia, Ohio, that employs 3,000 people, told Issa that the Environmental Protection Agency's greenhouse gas and clean air rules, those existing and those proposed, ‘must be stopped immediately.’ ‘Jobs and lives are being destroyed by Mr. Obama and his out-of-control, radical U.S. EPA and his appointees to it,’ chairman and chief executive Robert E. Murray wrote. He concluded: ‘America, our industry and jobs, are under siege by Mr. Obama and his U.S. EPA.’” (Philip Rucker and David S. Hilzenrath, “GOP Eyes Rules That Firms Say Hurt Jobs,” The Washington Post, 2/7/11)

 “In A Letter To [House Oversight Committee Chairman Darrell] Issa, Nicholas E. Calio, President Of The Air Transport Association, An Airline Trade Group, Wrote That The FAA ‘Failed To Link Their Specific Regulatory Changes To Targeted Improvements.’” (Philip Rucker and David S. Hilzenrath, “GOP Eyes Rules That Firms Say Hurt Jobs,” The Washington Post, 2/7/11)