U.S. Representative Lou Barletta recently met with over 30
NFIB small business owners to hear their concerns about Washington policies
that are prohibiting their growth and hiring. The meeting took place at
The Carlisle Vault, a renovated bank building that hosts events. Congressman
Barletta, a former small business owner, talks about how hard it is to start a
business today and about the global influence on manufacturing.
Barletta also spoke about overreach by the Environmental
Protection Agency with its recent expansion of the Clean Water Act. That agency
has redefined the definition of “navigable waters” which would give it control
not only over rivers, lakes and streams, but over every ditch, pond and
construction trench that retains water for more than 30 days. The new rule
would require all property owners to get federal permits to alter their land
which can take many months to be granted and cost tens of thousands of
dollars. There could also be huge fines for non-compliance.
Business owners raised a series of concerns with the
Congressman. The owner of a summer recreational business that hires hundreds
of teenagers told the Congressman a hike in the minimum wage to $10.10 both at
the state and federal level would cause him to eliminate jobs or raise prices
which would make him lose customers. A contracting business spoke about the
requirement to pay prevailing wage on
federal and state jobs. Another business owner told Barletta the
Affordable Care Act had driven up his employee insurance costs and forced him
to eliminate three jobs in order to keep coverage.
