ABC Jan. 26 sent a letter in support of job creation to Rep. Spencer Bachus (R-Ala.), chairman of the House Committee on Financial Services and Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.), ranking member on the committee. The letter was in response to a full-committee hearing, “Promoting Economic Recovery and Job Creation: The Road Forward.”
“ABC commends the committee for holding a hearing on job creation,” the letter stated. “The economic hardships facing our nation have acutely impacted ABC members and their employees. With the construction industry unemployment rate at 20.7 percent, and a loss of nearly 1.9 million construction jobs since December 2007, creating jobs and invigorating the economy is a priority for ABC members.”
In the letter, ABC urged Congress to immediately address the near freeze on lending and pointed to the tough regulatory environment facing community banks.
ABC also noted that the costly regulations facing small businesses, which create the majority of jobs, have a significant impact, and cited a U.S. Small Business Administration Office of Advocacy study that found, on average, small businesses pay $10,585 more per year to comply with federal regulations than large businesses.
In order to address the need to create jobs, ABC recommended the following:
- Minimizing the tax burden to help increase the rate of capital formation, economic growth and job creation;
- Creating a comprehensive energy plan to create more stable, less expensive energy supplies and to update the crumbling energy infrastructure;
- Lifting Davis-Bacon Act requirements on stimulus funds; and
- Prohibiting federal agencies from requiring PLAs on federal and federally funded construction projects.