Media Release
INSIDE INDIANA BUSINESS: Rokita: Red Tape Costing Indiana Jobs
As part of his effort to eliminate what he calls excessive federal regulation on business, Congressman Todd Rokita (R-4) is sharing some examples of where he says it has hurt local employers.
Representative Todd Rokita (IN-4) and Indiana Chamber of Commerce President Kevin Brinegar announced today a partnership to identify onerous federal rules and regulations that stifle business growth and job creation. With the help of Indiana business and industry, together we will collect information on federal rules and regulations that cost Indiana employers and communities unnecessary time, capital and effort.
Rokita and Brinegar are encouraging businesses to share their firsthand experiences via a simple form at www.indianachamber.com/redtape or at www.rokita.house.gov/redtape.
“Job creation is priority one,” said Rokita. “For too long, Washington D.C. has sent down to Indiana ideological rules and regulations, with no concern for what it would do to Indiana jobs. The result has been lost jobs, lost pay and an ever-growing bureaucracy, unaccountable to the public.”
Rokita has held six Business Town Hall meetings throughout the Fourth Congressional District to appeal to business owners and operators to help identify those rules and regulations preventing businesses from hiring more workers and growing. “The message I have heard at town hall meetings is the federal government has consistently overreached its authority and has left a mountain of red ink behind. It is time for those unaccountable bureaucrats to defend their policies or face their repeal,” Rokita said. “That is why I am reaching out to Hoosiers across the state to give them an opportunity to bring forth their concerns as well.”
“Job creation is the best way for Indiana business to rebound from the crippling recession,” Brinegar said. “In order to fully take advantage of this opportunity, something has to be done about the regulatory overreach by several federal agencies. This creates unnecessary mandates that are tremendous impediments for businesses – ones we hear about frequently from our frustrated member companies. I applaud the House Leadership and Congressman Rokita for taking on this responsibility; it’s time to rein in the red tape.”
The Indiana Chamber and Representative Rokita are reaching out to its membership and the Hoosier business community through various communications channels to encourage use of the web page.
The announcement was made at Magnum Logistics, a trucking company based in Plainfield. Magnum’s owner, Jim Sharp said, “I applaud this initiative and thank Congressman Rokita and the Indiana Chamber for their efforts to help small business during these tough economic times. I met with Congressman Rokita and expressed my concerns about the Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Transportation policies – that meeting led to today’s announcement, of which I am proud to play a role. I look forward to Congress taking on those regulations that are preventing me from hiring more workers.”
Earlier this year, Congress passed H. Res. 72 tasking legislative committees with the responsibility to identify and investigate these job destroying mandates. All information collected at www.indianachamber.com/redtape or www.rokita.house.gov/redtape will go to Congressman Rokita’s office, with the ultimate goal being to reform or rollback the federal regulations that do the most damage to the state’s economy.