Hartzler: President Obama delaying job-creating agreements

In a portion of Fourth District Congresswoman Vicky Hartzler's newsletter this week, she addresses President Obama's comments on job creation.

We learned, this week, as President Obama toured parts of the Midwest – excluding Missouri – by bus, that he is going make a speech after Labor Day to unveil some new ideas to create jobs. Associated Press reports: “Obama’s proposals would be fresh ones, not a rehash of plans he has pitched for many weeks …”

Certainly, it is reassuring to see that the President is promising to come up with something new. But the real solutions to our economic problems already exist. The House has passed a budget that would control spending by cutting trillions of dollars and making the tax code more fair – without raising taxes! It is only with this spending discipline that America will spur on private-sector job creation through a strengthening of the economy.

In addition, we passed needed proposals that remove current impediments to job creation: over-regulation, high taxes, expensive government-mandated health care, and high energy costs. Government needs to get out of the way and unleash the free enterprise system. Then we will see the jobs we need.

One thing the President could do to create jobs would be to send Congress the trade agreements that have already been negotiated with South Korea, Panama, and Colombia. The independent International Trade Commission has estimated that implementation of these three trade deals would increase U.S. exports by more than $10 billion – an increase even the President’s own calculations indicate would immediately create 250,000 jobs. Yet, the President refuses to give us these agreements, allowing other countries to take away business that should rightfully belong to American farmers and small business owners. We can create American jobs if we are allowed to export more American goods abroad. I hope this will happen in the fall.