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 )  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 .  