Less than two years ago, the United States had 1.2 million more jobs than people to fill them, Americans had more money in their pockets, and Main Street was open for business. These measures of success had never been seen in our nation’s history, all thanks to pro-America policies that led to our economic boom.
As the pandemic thwarted our thriving economy last year, I sat down with Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell to discuss what was needed to achieve a successful post-pandemic economic rebound. Most of his models projected that it would be nearly impossible to quickly bounce back, but he did not consider the “1.2 million more jobs” factor that our country had only one year prior. As the chairman and I discussed his models, I was confident that if we utilized our America First policies and liberated our small businesses, we could poise our economy to take off as the COVID-19 pandemic subsided.
Fast forward to 2021 where the Wall Street Journal Editorial Board said it best: “The threats to growth will come when Mr. Biden’s waves of regulation and tax increases arrive.” It is now clear that the American people are stuck in President Biden’s “EO” game of executive order versus economic opportunity, leaving them to wonder if our economy will ever recover during this new administration.
On his first day in office, President Biden killed thousands of American jobs with the stroke of a pen. By halting projects such as the construction of the Keystone XL Pipeline along with the wall at our southern border, real jobs were taken away from real people who have real families to support. Not to mention, terminating these construction projects mid-stream costs millions in taxpayer dollars, an irrational solution especially during a pandemic.
As President Biden bulldozes through new and former executive orders, he has not only killed countless jobs but also opened the door to potential burdensome regulations on our nation’s small businesses. Biden immediately revoked Executive Order 13771, doing away with the “cut 2 for every 1 regulation added” model imposed under the Trump administration. Additionally, after repealing an executive order that treated guidance documents as non-binding, President Biden has officially cleared the path for major government agency overreach.
So, what do we, as legislators, need to do to continue in a positive economic direction? The last four years showed that our economy thrives through tax cuts, deregulation, and targeted assistance with minimal red tape. As lead Republican, I will ensure the House Small Business Committee closely watches President Biden and his frenzy of executive orders while pushing back on his job-killing policies. With the recent report of fourth quarter economic growth at 4 percent, it is evident that an economic rebound is right at our front door.
As small businesses across the nation have been suffocated by overreaching shutdown regulations from their Democrat state and local leaders, “closed for business” has become a new norm for the American people. Once we put the pandemic behind us, we have great things ahead of us. But this economic prosperity can only happen if politicians work across the aisle and hold the Biden administration accountable. The American people cannot continue to be the pawns in Biden’s EO game.
Blaine Luetkemeyer is ranking member of the Small Business Committee.