BY LINDA BENTLEY | JULY 6, 2011
Quayle says Congress has abdicated its responsibilities
Need to eliminate barriers to job expansion and simplify tax code
CAREFREE – U.S. Rep. Ben Quayle (r) spoke primarily to Carefree Town Council, as only two members of the public showed up at 8:30 a.m. on Friday to hear what he had to say about what’s going on in Washington and explain why reforms have hit a roadblock in the Senate.
As far as what needs to get done to keep companies from fleeing the United States, Quayle brought up the NLRB’s (National Labor Relations Board) lawsuit against Boeing which built and opened a new manufacturing plant in North Carolina, a right to work state, arguing it expanded operations in North Carolina in retaliation for a strike three years ago at its Seattle plant, where it was under collective bargaining agreements.
He said, “Here we have an American company expanding its manufacturing base and creating jobs in the U.S.,” pointing out they wouldn’t be facing a lawsuit at all if they decided to open a new plant overseas.
Quayle said, “Congress has abdicated its responsibilities to these agencies” and stated it needs to eliminate barriers to job expansion and simplifying the tax code would be the way to go.
He lamented the health care bill will have a negative impact on jobs, and said he’s had conversations with business owners who said they could expand and hire more employees but have expressed they won’t go over the 50-employee limit that mandates they provide health insurance or pay penalties.
Pointing out the United States has the best Navy in the world Quayle said his fear is we don’t continue to innovate in our military, while China is pouring money into its own.
Quayle said immigration is still a mess in the Tucson sector of Customs and Border Enforcement and stated Arizona remains the marijuana distribution hub for the rest of the nation.
Environmental groups have been instrumental in blocking border agents’ access to federal land. Quayle said, unless agents are in hot pursuit, they need to obtain prior approval to from the Department of the Interior to do anything on federal land.
Quayle said in order to move a portable tower from one location to another on federal land, which he said comprises more than 80 percent of Arizona’s border with Mexico, because smugglers altered their routes, it took four months to get approval.
Responding to whether or not he thought the U.S. would ever get to a point where it would become an exporter of oil, Quayle said he didn’t think so but thought the goal should be toward energy independence in North America, noting there is technology available to tap vast resources, if government would allow it.
When asked about his freshman status in Washington, Quayle said it was a steep learning curve but he took some comfort in nearly one quarter of the entire body being new.
He said, “The Senate is dragging its feet on everything. Democrats do not want to do what’s good for the next generation, just what’s good for the next campaign.”
