#NVSen: Chamber Endorsements a Reminder of Berkley’s Long Anti-Business Record

U.S. Chamber of Commerce and The Chamber of Reno, Sparks and Northern Nevada Endorse Dean Heller

Endorsements a Reminder of Berkley’s Long Anti-Business Record

(Las Vegas, NV) – Today, Dean Heller received the endorsement of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and The Chamber of Reno, Sparks and Northern Nevada.  The endorsements draw a stark contrast to seven-term Congresswoman Shelley Berkley’s long record of contempt for the very businesses that drive the American economy.

“I welcome the endorsements of both the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the Chamber of Reno, Sparks and Northern Nevada.  These organizations are important resources for businesses and powerful advocates for the individuals and small businesses we need to create jobs in Nevada. Higher taxes, more regulations, and a more controlling government that Shelley Berkley and her Democratic allies in Washington are constantly promoting are forcing unemployment to remain unacceptably high in Nevada. I am committed to changing the Washington status which is creating too much uncertainty for businesses just like Sparks Florist,” said Dean Heller.

Margaret Spellings, Former Secretary of Education and President of the U.S. Chamber’s Forum for Policy Innovation represented the U.S. Chamber at an event in Sparks, Nevada today.

“Dean Heller is a proven leader for policies that will keep American and Nevada businesses competitive. He has fought to advance free enterprise principles that drive economic growth and job creation. The contrast between Dean Heller and Shelley Berkley on business issues could not be clearer,” said Margaret Spellings, president of the U.S. Chamber’s Forum for Policy Innovation and former U.S. Secretary of Education.

“Berkley has consistently chosen more government and increased regulations over Nevada’s job creators. We think it’s important that Nevada voters know where their candidates stand on issues critical to our nation’s economic recovery,” Spellings continued.

The Chamber of Reno, Sparks and Northern Nevada lent their support to Dean Heller as well. Tray Abney represented The Chamber to make the announcement endorsement.

“Dean Heller knows us here in Northern Nevada, and stands for policies that will energize our businesses. Shelley Berkley, on the other hand, has spent fourteen years in Washington doing nothing but raising taxes and making it harder for businesses to succeed. Even as a statewide Senate candidate, Shelley Berkley failed to explain why she thinks higher taxes and more regulations are a good idea when Nevada’s economy is struggling. People looking for work in Reno, Sparks and across the state cannot afford to have Shelley Berkley in the United States Senate,” said Tray Abney, The Chamber of Reno, Sparks, and Northern Nevada.

The endorsement event took place at Sparks Florist, a retail and wholesale operation that has been delivering flowers to Reno and Sparks residents for 52 years.

Background:

Berkley has repeatedly voted to raise taxes on job creators even within the last few months.

• On July 27, 2012, Shelley Berkley voted against H.R. 8, the Job Protection and Recession Prevention Act of 2012, which would extend tax relief for job creators earning over $250,000 and could cost Nevada 6,000 jobs.    (H.R. 8, House Roll Call Vote #545)

• On April 17, 2012 Congresswoman Berkley voted against the Small Business Tax Cut Act. The bill would give a 20% tax cut that will help 22 million hard-working small businesses retain and create more jobs. The legislation would ultimately provide $46 billion in tax relief to small businesses and could affect as many as 45,000 small businesses in Nevada with between 1-500 employees.

Shelley Berkley supported ObamaCare, the massive government  healthcare takeover known for destroying jobs and small businesses:

·         ObamaCare costs 800,000 jobs at a time when Nevada leads the nation in unemployment. (Jeffrey H. Anderson, “CBO Director Says ObamaCare Would Reduce Employment by 800,000 Workers,” The Weekly Standard, 2/10/2011)

·         ObamaCare is forcing one in eight small businesses to either terminate their plan or notify employees it is going to be eliminated. (“Some Small Businesses Say Health Insurers Are Dropping Their Coverage, Kaiser Health News, July 25, 2011)

• ObamaCare discourages job creation by raising the price of hiring: “If you increase the price of labor, companies will buy less of it. Requiring employers to buy health insurance for some workers makes them more expensive, at least in the short run. Particularly vulnerable are low-skilled workers…” (Robert Samuelson, “The folly of Obamacare,” Washington Post, August 4, 2012)

Shelley Berkley has repeatedly voted federal regulations that are stunting job growth in Nevada and across the country.

• On June 19, 2012, Berkley voted against the Grazing Improvement Act, which mean she chose to protect federal regulations over Nevada’s family businesses.  The Grazing Improvement Act would give grazers greater certainty about their permit renewal.  Without this bill, permit holders are forced to rely on year-to-year appropriations bill.

• Berkley voted against the Red Tape Reduction and Small Business Job Creation Act (H.R. 4078), which would put a stop to the government’s ever-increasing burden on businesses and the economy. 

• A recent Gallup poll showed that 46 percent of small business owners are not hiring because they are worried about new government regulations. As many as 48 percent say they are worried about the potential costs of health care. (“Health Costs, Gov’t Regulations Curb Small Business Hiring,” Gallup, February 15, 2012)

And Congresswoman Berkley has voted against 20 bipartisan jobs bills:

1)      Berkley opposed the Reducing Regulatory Burdens Act (H.R 872).
Bill reduces overlapping and unnecessary regulation on pesticides and reduces costs to both farmers and small business owners.

2)      Berkley opposed the Energy Tax Prevention Act (H.R. 910).
Legislation prohibits the federal government from regulating greenhouse gas emissions, and prevents a needless increase in energy prices for American households and businesses.

3)      Berkley failed to vote on a Resolution of Disapproval Regarding FCC’s Regulation (H.J. Res. 37). Legislation prevents the federal government from regulating the Internet and broadband providers.

4)      Berkley opposed the Restarting American Offshore Leasing Now Act (H.R 1230). Bill reduced energy prices and creates jobs by promoting offshore oil and natural gas exploration in the Gulf of Mexico and the Virginia coast.

5)      Berkley voted against the Putting the Gulf of Mexico Back to Work Act (H.R. 1229).  Bill promotes job creation and reduces energy prices by reinstating oil drilling permits in the Gulf Coast.

6)      Berkley voted against the Reversing President Obama’s Offshore Moratorium Act (H.R 1231).
Legislation promotes lower energy costs and job creation by allowing drilling in at least 50 percent of the Outer Continental Shelf areas known to contain the most oil and gas.

7)      Berkley opposed the Jobs and Energy Permitting Act (H.R 2021).
Bill promotes job growth and reduces energy costs by expediting the process of obtaining an offshore drilling permit.

8)      Berkley voted against the Clean Water Cooperative Federalism Act (H.R 2018), which prevents federal government from interfering with a state’s water quality program once that state has already met existing federal standards.

9)      Berkley opposed the Consumer Financial Protection Safety and Soundness Improvement Act of 2011 (H.R. 1315).  Legislation promotes consumer protection and allows the Financial Stability Oversight Council to vote to set aside any harmful federal regulation.

10)   Berkley voted against the North American-Made Energy Security Act (H.R. 1938)
Legislation creates jobs and ensures energy security by ending the needless delay of the construction and operation of the Keystone XL pipeline.

11)   Berkley opposed the Protecting Jobs From Government Interference Act (H.R. 2587).  Legislation would guarantee private companies the ability to develop their businesses in the state that offers the best opportunities for growth, job creation and stability.

12)   Berkley voted “no” on the Transparency in Regulatory Analysis of Impacts (TRAIN) Act (H.R. 2401). Legislation mandates an evaluation of the economic impacts of EPA regulations and delay the final dates for both the maximum achievable control technology (Utility MACT) standards and the cross-state air pollution rule (CSAPR) until the full impact has been studied. Both regulations would cost consumers and businesses $184 billion from 2011-2030 and would skyrocket electrical prices.

13)   Berkley voted against the EPA Regulatory Relief Act (H.R. 2250). Bill alleviates the excessive regulatory burden placed on employers by the EPA’s Boiler MACT rules, potentially costing companies $14 billion and 224,000 American jobs, and replacing them with sensible, achievable rules that do not destroy jobs.

14)   Berkley voted against the Coal Residuals Reuse and Management Act (H.R. 2273). Legislation provides consistent, safe management of coal combustion residuals in a way that protects jobs and encourages recycling and beneficial use.

15)   Berkley opposed the Regulatory Accountability Act of 2011 (H.R. 3010). Legislation would require agencies to assess costs and benefits of new regulations on small businesses.

16)   Berkley voted against the Regulatory Flexibility Improvement Act of 2011. Legislation closes loopholes used by federal agencies that allow them to impose costly, job-crushing regulations.

17)   Berkley voted to kill the Workforce Democracy and Fairness Act (H.R. 3094). Bill would make sure President Obama’s National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) could not impose sweeping new regulations that threaten American jobs.

18)   Berkley opposed the Regulatory Flexibility Act (H.R. 527). Legislation would require federal agencies to analyze fully the impact a new regulation would have on small businesses, before the agency adopts the regulation.

19)   Berkley voted against the Regulatory Accountability Act (H.R. 3010). The bill would update and reform the rulemaking process by setting mandatory rulemaking principles.

20)   Berkley voted against the Regulations From the Executive in Need of Scrutiny Act of 2011 (H.R. 10), which would increase accountability for and transparency in the federal regulatory process.  The REINS Act would result in more carefully drafted and detailed legislation, an improved regulatory process, and a legislative branch that is truly accountable to the American people for the laws imposed upon them.

21)   Berkley voted against the Farm Dust Regulation Prevention Act of 2011 (H.R. 1633). Legislation would keep the Environment Protection Agency (EPA) from proposing, finalizing, implementing, or enforcing any regulation revising the National Ambient Air Quality Standard applicable to coarse particulate matter under the Clean Air Act for at least one year from the date of enactment.