Graves: Obama must stop going it alone and work for the American people

(From Sixth District Congressman Sam Graves)

The American people sent a clear message this past November of what they expect from Washington – common sense solutions to address our nation’s problems. In the first week of the new congress, the House of Representatives showed once again that we have heard this message and are taking action by advancing bipartisan legislation that supports our veterans, repeals burdensome provisions in Obamacare, and allows for construction of the Keystone XL Pipeline to begin.

The House passed the Hire More Heroes Act, which incentivizes small businesses to hire our veterans returning from duty by repealing the senseless employer mandate in Obamacare. Under Obamacare, small businesses are penalized for hiring more than 50 employees at full-time hours. This legislation exempts our veterans from this provision. This is a step in the right direction, but we must continue to fight to repeal the entire law and provide the same relief to all hardworking Americans.

Additionally, the House passed legislation to restore the traditional 40-hour work week, which was cut to 30-hours under Obamacare. This provision has made it more difficult for small businesses to hire full-time employees, resulting in fewer hours for countless Americans. Now is the time to let small businesses focus on creating jobs so people can get back to work, not saddling them with more bureaucratic red-tape.

Finally, the House once again took action to create jobs and address our energy needs by passing legislation to allow construction on the Keystone XL Pipeline. President Obama and his allies have had nearly 6 years to act, but have chosen the side of liberal special interests and lobbyists at every turn. It is long past time for President Obama to stop playing politics with our energy policy and allow construction to go forward.

Rather than working with the House to pass common sense solutions, President Obama issued threats to veto these bipartisan bills. With a new Republican majority in the Senate, I am confident that these measures will be sent to the President for his signature. President Obama must stop his go-it-alone approach and work with us on behalf of the American people.