Congressman Cantor issued the following statement:

“The Supreme Court’s decision to uphold Obamacare is a crushing blow to patients throughout the country. Obamacare has failed to keep the President’s basic promise of allowing those who like their health care to keep it, while increasing costs and reducing access to quality care for patients. In this tough economy, jobs and economic growth are on the minds of most Americans, but Obamacare has increased uncertainty for small businessmen and women and forced them to put their hiring decisions on hold.

“During the week of July 9th, the House will once again repeal Obamacare, clearing the way for patient-centered reforms that lower costs and increase choice. We support an approach that offers simpler, more affordable and more accessible health care that allows people to keep the health care that they like.

“The Court’s decision brings into focus the choice the American people have about the direction of our country. The President and his party believe in massive government intrusions that increase costs and take decisions away from patients. In contrast, Republicans believe in patient-centered, affordable care where health care decisions are made by patients, their families and their doctors, not by the federal government.”

Click here to view the entire Supreme Court decision.

Congressman Cantor said:

“This bill tries to make it a little easier for the small businessmen and women who want to seek investors, who want to build their business to retain and hire more people. It’s a straight up solutions oriented bill. I hope it represents the kind of bipartisan work that we can accomplish here in Washington over the next few months. We have a very difficult economic situation still. The President said today that he has always believed that it is the private sector that is the job generator in this country. I agree with him. I think most Americans agree with him.

“Because of that, we’re going to bring to the House floor the week after Tax Day our bill, the Small Business Tax Cut Act of 2012. This is the same line of thinking that the Jumpstart Our Business Startups bill is about; to help small businesses keep more of their own money so they can retain and hire more people.”

America has always offered immense opportunity because innovators have had the ability to take risks, work hard and be rewarded for it. Innovators, entrepreneurs and small-business people built the framework for American success, creating legacies lasting generations.

Companies like Ford, Apple and Boeing started as small businesses and became industry leaders, creating high-quality jobs and boosting economic growth. More recently, companies like Google and Facebook were launched by a single idea and then revolutionized the way we live.

The entrepreneurs who had these ideas are the key ingredient in the formula for success and opportunity in America. Each one took a risk and did whatever they needed to do to make it work. In the process, they helped thousands – if not millions – of families, neighbors and friends.

Those who earn their success not only create good jobs and services that improve our lives, they give back and help everyone move just a little bit further up the ladder of success.

Yet, today, the ability of an individual to take a risk and create a small business or startup company is threatened because of the barrage of red tape and uncertainty – much of it from Washington.

Since 1980, startup firms less than five years old have created the vast majority of new jobs in this country, nearly 40 million of them, according to the Kauffman Foundation. The past few years however, have seen a 23 percent decline in these small-business startups — sapping 1.8 million additional jobs from the economy.

Whether it’s due to the threat of higher taxes; or regulations that place higher costs on businesses and limits on who can invest, small businesses and entrepreneurs are frozen in their tracks.

For example, the Securities and Exchange Commission’s increasing regulation has made costs prohibitive for companies to go public — leading to a huge drop in small-scale initial public offerings over the past 15 years. This worrisome statistic highlights the need to reform costly regulations that are keeping companies from growing — particularly because, on average, 92 percent of business expansion and hiring occurs after it goes public.

This cannot become the new normal. We need to do everything we can to ensure that America remains a country of opportunity, in which jobs are created, startups and innovation happen, risks are taken and small businesses flourish.

President Barack Obama in his State of the Union address asked Congress to send him a bill that helps small businesses and entrepreneurs succeed. That is exactly what we intend to do.

Last year, the House worked on a series of bills to remove regulatory barriers that are holding back entrepreneurs and small businesses. Today, we are unveiling a bipartisan legislative package that puts all of these items together: the JOBS Act — Jumpstart Our Business Startups. This represents an important opportunity to work together to help our small-business startups grow, create jobs and get the economy back on track.

The JOBS Act contains several measures to remove the obstacles preventing small businesses and startups from accessing the capital they need to grow. A measure championed by House Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) repeals the solicitation ban on companies trying to raise capital, and North Carolina Rep. Patrick McHenry’s bill removes the ban on “crowdfunding,” enabling entrepreneurs to pool investments from smaller investors.

A measure from Rep. David Schweikert of Arizona eases shareholder threshold regulations that slam small businesses with costly requirements before they have the capital to comply. And a bill by Rep. Ben Quayle, also of Arizona, modifies securities regulations governing the registration of small bank holding companies.

These measures will increase capital formation and spur growth, paving the way for more startups and smaller businesses to go public.

The final provision of the JOBS Act gives small businesses a reprieve from costly SEC regulations, allowing them to go public sooner, grow faster and create more jobs.

Individually, these bills have garnered broad bipartisan support from both sides of the Capitol, and from members of the business community who represent current or former startup companies. Specifically, Steve Case, former AOL chairman and founder and a member of the President’s Council on Jobs and Economic Competitiveness, has highlighted the need for these tools to boost startups and has endorsed the JOBS Act.

In January, the council recommended that the president move forward on the measures that we have included in our act, calling them essential to our global competitiveness, economic growth and job creation.

The JOBS Act will help ensure that America remains the best economy in the world. These solutions restore opportunities for Americans who have a dream, work hard, play by the rules and create the businesses that define our nation’s success.

In a time marked by partisan battles and finger-pointing between the White House and Congress, the JOBS Act is an opportunity for both parties in Washington to work together and produce results for our nation’s small businesses and entrepreneurs. We are hopeful that the president will stand by his State of the Union pledge and work with us to pass an agenda that helps entrepreneurs succeed. The president called on Congress to put the measures in a bill and “get it on my desk this year.”

Here it is, Mr. President.

Rep. Eric Cantor (R-Va.) is the House majority leader. Rep. Stephen Fincher (R-Tenn.) serves on the House Financial Services Committee and on the Jobs Creators Caucus.

The House has launched a new website offering public access to legislation under consideration as part of an ongoing effort to increase transparency.

The Committee on House Administration announced Tuesday it had recently adopted electronic posting standards directing the clerk of the House to develop a centralized website for House documents.

The site, located at http://docs.house.gov/, will provide all legislation to be considered by the House in XML, an open, machine-readable format, according to a committee statement.

Last April, Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) and House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) directed House Clerk Karen Haas to work with the Committee on House Administration to establish electronic data standards for the House to make information more easily accessible to the public.

“At the start of the 112th Congress, the House adopted a Rules Package that identified electronic documents as a priority for the institution,” wrote Boehner and Cantor in an April 29 letter to Haas. “Towards that end, we are asking all House stakeholders to work together on publicly releasing the House’s legislative data in machine-readable formats.”

“The new House Majority is dedicated to changing how our institution operates, with an emphasis on real transparency and greater accountability,” they added. “Ultimately, legislative data is the property of the American public. It is our hope that these reforms will continue to rebuild the trust between Congress and the people we serve.”

On Tuesday, Committee on House Administration Chairman Dan Lungren (R-Calif.) praised the clerk and House leadership for their work on creating a “one-stop shop” for legislative information.

“I would like to thank the Speaker and Majority Leader for their continuing efforts to increase the transparency of House operations,” he wrote in a statement. “Improving access to legislative information will spur greater public participation and ultimately improve the legislative process.”

The December national report on unemployment is out and Congressman Cantor had the following comments:

“While it is welcome news that more jobs were created in December, millions of Americans still can’t find work and small businesses are struggling to grow and hire. Giving small businesses confidence to expand, create jobs, and get people working again requires a long term solution for economic growth, not simply stops and starts. Going into the New Year, we must find areas of common ground and work together to deliver results on the most important issue facing our nation: the lack of long term job creation. We will continue fighting for small business men and women by making it easier for them to expand, invest and hire new workers.

“In a time of divided government, campaign-year political wins should not get in the way of doing the right thing. Democrats in Congress and the President need to work with us to make incremental progress on areas of agreement that will help create jobs for middle class Americans and spur small business growth. I again call on Leader Reid and Senate Democrats to take up the 27 House-passed bipartisan jobs bills that pave the way for job creation and include ideas supported by President Obama. These bipartisan measures ensure American businesses – small and large – can create jobs at home and compete abroad.

“While the White House has made clear that they do not intend to work constructively with Congress in the coming session as the President moves into fulltime campaign mode, House Republicans stand ready to work together. With millions of Americans out of work, we must move past the gridlock that has become the hallmark of Washington. It’s time to put aside partisanship and focus on areas of common ground to help small businesses and middle class families.”

Congressman Cantor Visits Battlefield Elementary School

Congressman Cantor visited Battlefield Park Elementary School in Hanover this week. He was invited to Pam Franklin’s class by fifth grader Holly Beazley. He read to the class from a biography about James Madison titled “The Great Little Madison”. He was named an honorary “bobcat” and presented with a school t-shirt.

Congressman Cantor said after his visit,

“Thank you Holly and all of your classmates for inviting me to visit your class today. The seat I serve in Congress today is the same one James Madison once held, so I’m honored I was here to share part of his story with you. James Madison was not only a Congressman, he also wrote our Constitution and set an example all of us in Virginia should be inspired to live up to. Thanks also to Principal Bradley, Ms. Franklin, and all of the teachers here at Battlefield Park who make sure each and every one of you has a great education and the opportunity to succeed.”

Congressman Cantor commented on the passing of this important legislation yesterday:

It is clear that many businesses across this country are feeling the ill effect of the regulatory and tax burdens placed upon them by continued policies coming out of Washington and this Administration. Small businesses in particular, the backbone of our economy, face a cloud of uncertainty. This uncertainty prevents these entrepreneurs from taking a risk, from starting a business, and creating jobs. But, House Republicans want to work with our colleagues across the aisle and we want to help empower these small business men and women to once again begin the engine that drives our economy. This is the focus of the House Republican Plan for America’s Job Creators. This is about jobs.

There are some who repeatedly claim that they want to vote on a jobs bill. Well, we passed one yesterday on a bipartisan basis. And today they will have another chance and we will pass another. Currently, the House has passed 16 bills focused on job creation that are sitting idly in the U.S. Senate. The President has traveled the country telling Americans, “We Can’t Wait” to pass some jobs bills. Well, we aren’t waiting. We continue to pass jobs bills. Perhaps it’s time for the President to deliver the “We Can’t Wait” message to the other body in the Capitol.

Today, the House will take another step in solving our jobs crisis by repealing the 3% withholding rule. Under this rule, federal, state and many local governments will be required to withhold 3% of all government payments made to contractors and suppliers. The impact of this rule would be huge accounting burdens on governments and potentially harmful cash flow disruptions for suppliers, contractors and subcontractors. Those are dollars that could otherwise be used to grow a business or hire more workers.

The cost of this law would then be felt by state and local governments, universities, like Virginia Commonwealth University that told me it is an “unreasonable burden on an institution of higher education.” It is an unreasonable burden on heavy equipment dealers, and other businesses across the country. Compliance costs would move capital, that could otherwise be used to hire additional workers, to the government.

Many of my fellow Virginians in the county in which I live would be severely impacted by this law. For example, if this law had been in effect in 2009 and 2010 in the county of Henrico, Virginia an estimated $15 million would not have reached small businesses that are already operating within small margins of profit. This is not the time to be adding additional costs to our job creators. In May of this year, my County Manager stated that, “The effect of this law may also be harmful to the economy with a significant amount of money being directed to the federal government instead of to businesses that would potentially use those funds to create jobs and grow their business.”

By passing another bill, another jobs bill, House Republicans are helping companies cope with this era of uncertainty. This is another bipartisan and common sense solution to support the small business men and women of our economy so that they can begin to support and begin to regenerate our ailing economy.

“These numbers show that America is still facing a jobs crisis. Millions upon millions of Americans remain out of work – some for far too long of a time – and we must work to foster an environment that makes it easier for small businesses and entrepreneurs to grow and create jobs. For the past eight months, House Republicans have been squarely focused on common sense proposals to create jobs and grow the economy. We put forward our Plan for America’s Job Creators including specific proposals to spur economic growth, and our fall legislative agenda will focus on repealing unnecessary job-destroying federal regulations that are stifling the ability of businesses small and large to grow and hire. Unfortunately, aside from more-of-the-same failed stimulus spending and tax increases on working families and small businesses, Congressional Democrats have not offered any solutions to our nation’s jobs crisis. And while the House has passed nearly a dozen pro-growth bills, the Senate refuses to act on any of these job creating measures.

“Next week, President Obama will finally unveil his latest jobs plan, and I believe there will be areas where we can work together to produce real results that will help job creators get people back to work. The President is expected to include infrastructure investment in his plan. The Administration’s previous attempts at this didn’t produce the expected results, and we must be mindful not to repeat the mistakes of the past. But we would agree with President Obama’s suggestion earlier this week to give states more control over infrastructure projects and eliminate wasteful spending through reforms to current law, which will boost economic growth without increasing spending. For example, eliminating the requirement that states must set aside 10 percent of federal surface transportation funds for transportation museums, education, and preservation would allow states to devote these monies to high-priority infrastructure projects, without adding to the deficit. Reforming the unemployment system is another area of commonality where we can assist those in need and help get unemployed Americans back to work. In fact, in December of 2009, we presented a jobs plan to President Obama suggesting the “Georgia Works” program as a potential model for getting Americans back to work, and we stand ready to work with him if there is interest in implementing a similar program on the federal level.

“With a stalled economy and millions of Americans out of work, we must come together and unite behind the notion that we want to grow this economy, put in place policies that allow small businesses expand and hire, and let America be the country where businesses and families can go out and earn their success. The President says he wants to put job creation first and put politics aside. We agree. It is a two way street, and if the President is willing to roll up his sleeves and join us in helping get Americans back to work, we are ready to work together.”

At a time when most Americans personally know someone who has lost their job, Eric understands government needs to get out of the way of small businesses and entrepreneurs and allow them to innovate so the economy can grow and create jobs.

As POLITICO reported yesterday, the Plan includes the following:

• Require congressional review and approval of any government regulations that have a significant impact on the economy or burden small businesses.
• Audit existing and pending regulations to identify and address those that hinder economic growth.
• Increase American competitiveness to spur investment and create more American jobs by streamlining the tax code and lowering the tax rate for businesses and individuals including small business owners to no more than 25%.
• Reform the tax code to allow American businesses to bring back their overseas profits without having to pay a tax penalty so they can invest in our economy and create American jobs.
• Pass the three pending free trade agreements with Colombia, Panama, and South Korea to create up to 250,000 jobs.
• Continue to open new markets to American made products.
• Modernize our patent system to protect our nation’s innovators, discourage frivolous lawsuits, and expedite patent reviews.
• Re-Authorize and improve federal programs and approval processes to streamline development of new products.
• Remove barriers to building a first class workforce so that the United States can compete in the global marketplace and lead the way in technological development and growth.
• Maximize domestic energy production to ensure an energy policy for the 21st century.
• Promote lower energy prices through increased domestic production.
• Encourage all forms of energy production.
• Build upon the House Republicans’ Budget by enacting significant spending cuts.

To view a video of the Plan’s release and read the full text, please click here.