mr. speaker , in america , the road to opportunity is a fast-moving highway . 
any american with creativity and simply a desire to work hard can achieve their dreams . 
anyone can succeed . 
anyone can start a business . 
our road to opportunity has been an open road . 
but unfortunately , our government , sometimes with very noble intentions , is putting up red lights , stoplights and dead ends on the road to opportunity . 
the heavy burden of needless governmental regulation is slowing down hard-driving americans , americans whose diligence and hard work is needed to secure our nation 's economic future . 
let us consider a few numbers for a moment . 
the regulatory burden on united states businesses is more than $ 850 billion each and every year . 
the small business administration says that complying with all of the government 's rules and regulations costs small businesses a staggering $ 7 , 000 per employee . 
american taxpayers spend an estimated $ 250 billion a year every year just trying to comply with the american federal income tax code . 
this crippling over-regulation can destroy the entrepreneurial spirit . 
it is a hidden tax on our businesses and on our citizens . 
simply put , the cost of doing business in america is quickly rising . 
and make no mistake , our foreign competitors are capitalizing on it . 
our trade deficit is now an unbelievable $ 670 billion and growing . 
it is time for america to reopen the road to opportunity , and it is imperative that this congress and this nation enact a competitiveness agenda . 
it is unacceptable that the cost of frivolous litigation now exceeds $ 230 billion a year . 
that interpolates to $ 2 , 000 for every american household . 
our citizens , business owners and entrepreneurs face enough hurdles as it is . 
our government does not need to raise new ones . 
we need to focus on eliminating some of the ones we have . 
we must and will make america more competitive in the global marketplace . 
i know by working together we can do the right thing for the american people , for american business and for america 's future . 
let us remove the red lights , remove the stop signs and the dead ends and reopen the road to opportunity . 
i urge my colleagues to support this resolution . 
