i thank the gentleman from kentucky for talking with us a few moments about what he is seeing happening and his desire to see some changes take place here in the policies that we will make , the things that we will implement in this congress , in the 109th congress . 
mr. speaker , one of the things that i do a lot and that i had the opportunity to do over the break is to visit with small business owners . 
i heard repeatedly from them that what they do not want and what they do not need is more taxes , more regulation , and more government . 
we hear them . 
the republicans hear them . 
this majority hears them . 
we understand what they are saying . 
unfortunately , i have a lot of colleagues who are not listening to these small business owners . 
i think it is important to note , small businesses in america represent over 90 percent of all employers and employ half of all private sector employees . 
they pay 44.3 percent of the total u.s. private payroll . 
that is our small businesses and entrepreneurs that we have talked about today , the people that are starting businesses , that are creating so many of these jobs . 
small businesses generate 60 to 80 percent of the net new jobs growth annually . 
that is why it is so important that we carry forth on this commitment to be certain that we have the right environment for an economic renaissance in this country . 
small businesses are the nation 's economic engine , and republicans have worked to reduce their tax burden so that they have the ability to create more jobs . 
we have passed legislation that will give them more affordable health care options for their employees , association health plans and health savings accounts . 
republicans have passed legislation to stem the tide of frivolous lawsuits , and we are continuing to do more on the tort reform issues . 
we are planning and continue to work daily on trade and opening foreign markets for american-made goods so that our employers in our local communities have access to markets around the globe , ways that they can place their products before a world that is ready to buy them . 
and we are trying to make certain that manufacturers are not being treated unfairly and that they have the opportunity to be competitive in a global marketplace . 
republicans want to pass a comprehensive energy policy so that america 's economic growth is not held hostage to foreign energy production . 
we want to harness more of our domestic energy . 
we believe excessive government growth in spending crowds businesses out of the marketplace . 
we know that when there is a need , if government fills that need , then the private or not-for-profit sector does not move in and fill that need . 
we know that the growth of government needs to be curtailed so that less of the taxpayers ' money is being required to pay for the government , so that taxpayers keep that money in their pocket . 
reducing the size of government is what we have talked about over the past couple of weeks as we have talked about rooting out waste , fraud , and abuse and reducing the size of the federal government . 
mr. speaker , we have a plan that will drive economic growth , that will continue to drive economic growth . 
we have had 40 months of overall economic growth . 
we would like to see another 40 months of economic growth and job creation for americans . 
we have had 2.7 million jobs created in just under the past couple of years . 
we have 21 months where we have seen manufacturing increases . 
we had our last quarter of 2004 with 3.8 percent economic growth . 
the fundamental difference between republicans and democrats is that we have a plan to continue to drive economic growth . 
and all of our small business owners , myself included , we know the cost that regulation imposes and the importance of rolling back regulation . 
among the top complaints that we receive from small business owners has to do with the federal tax code , the cost of compliance . 
the gentleman from iowa ( mr. king ) xz4002201 spoke to that earlier . 
twenty-two cents of every single dollar of manufactured goods in this nation is spent in compliance . 
that is an obstacle that we need to get rid of , and we are committed to working on that . 
we know this tax code is overly complicated , it is time-consuming , and it is incredibly frustrating for millions of small business owners in this nation . 
that is why republicans are committed to a code that is flatter , that is fairer , and absolutely is simpler not only for individuals but for our nation 's small businesses . 
mr. speaker , all over we have got a plan . 
it is the better plan . 
and we know the problems that are facing our nation 's economy . 
we know the problems that are facing this nation 's employers , whether they be small or whether they be large , whether they are small businesses or whether they are big business . 
and , mr. speaker , one thing that we know for sure in this 109th congress , we are committed to moving forward on commonsense reforms that will continue to work toward greater effectiveness and greater competitiveness for our nation 's economy . 
