Santorum Campaign Press Release - The Courage to Fight for American Jobs

Burlington, IA - Former Senator Rick Santorum (R-PA) today offered a bold vision for putting America back to work and encouraging innovation across the country. Senator Santorum's bright vision is in stark contrast to the one advanced by the Obama Administration. Unlike President Obama's faith in top-down government control, Rick Santorum believes in the power of the American worker to once again make our economy the envy of the world.

"The American worker is no longer looking for a president they can believe in. They are looking to elect a president who believes in them, and I believe in the American worker," said Senator Santorum. "We have seen what happens when government solutions are broadly applied, most vividly in the manufacturing sector. My plan does just the opposite, it frees business from the constraints of burdensome regulations and taxes that do nothing but hold back the American spirit of innovation."

The Santorum vision to unlock American economic greatness and open up the job market again focuses on five simple points to create growth, spur innovation, and ensure prosperity - all centered on freeing the American people and free-enterprise:

We must reduce the size and scope of a government that is stifling job creation

Historically, the federal government has been 18% of America's gross domestic product. If we hope to not be served the fate of the western European countries now embattled with debt crisis after debt crisis, we must return to our historical norms. This starts by first cutting government spending, capping future government spending, and finally enacting a Balanced Budget Amendment to our constitution.

Creating a tax structure that does not punish, but encourages innovation and entrepreneurship

First and foremost, America must no longer have a tax regime that punishes the individual, the small business, or the corporation but encourages growth in America. Rick Santorum believes we need to reduce taxes on individuals across the board, making the system simpler, flatter, and fairer. Likewise, we must cut the corporate tax rate in half, so that we can once again be competitive with the rest of the industrialized world. However, we must go further and cut the tax rate to zero for all manufacturers irrespective of the tax paying entity so we can keep jobs in America. Manufacturing has epitomized the loss of American jobs and innovation over the past several decades, and by reinvigorating this crucial sector of our economy the multiplier effect on our entire economy will spur on economic and job growth not seen in three decades. We must also permanently extend the current Capital Gains and Dividend Tax rates, repeal the Death Tax, and repatriate taxable income outside the United States at a rate of 5% to induce job creation here in America rather than abroad. And, we must not only encourage innovation, but celebrate it by no longer holding entrepreneurs hostage year-in and year-out through the tax code's treatment of the research and development of new and promising discoveries - regardless of whether it is the next ground-breaking cancer treatment or a component for a fuel-efficient engine.

Removing the regulatory burdens that hold our economic engine Back

The first thing nearly every executive will tell you, from sole proprietors to CEOs of international conglomerates: the existing federal regulatory structure in untenable. From the enactment of the boondoggle of ObamaCare to the CO₂ regulations of the EPA, President Obama has single-handedly placed weight after weight on our job market and economy as a whole - and Rick Santorum would immediately repeal the regulatory alphabet soup implemented by the Obama Administration. This also means ensuring that government agencies stay within their intended framework, most notably the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) that has diverted from its purpose of protecting the rights of workers to doing the political work of President Obama's staunches union allies. Furthermore, while legislation pending before Congress is a start, Rick Santorum believes we need to streamline the patent process to unclog the patent backlog and encourage innovation in America. And likewise, to ensure America remains the global beacon of biotechnology, we must reform the transparency of the Food and Drug Administration's approval process so entrepreneurs and investors alike can have surety in the process. Finally, Rick Santorum believes that each new federal law and reauthorization of existing laws should be simpler and limit the ability of federal agencies to expand upon the law through regulation.

Ensuring global capital and credit markets Believe in America again

We must repeal the burdensome Sarbanes-Oxley law that not only did not prevent the financial crisis, but chased capital overseas. At the same time, we must repeal Dodd-Frank before it can be fully-implemented and start from scratch to enact real reform that ensures the 2008 financial crisis does not happen again but at the same time does not place impediments in the way of capital formation and credit availability for average Americans. Rick Santorum believes we should not enshrine "too big to fail," and both of these laws do just that.

Tap America's vast domestic resources to power our 21st Century economy

Rick Santorum believes we need to stop being naïve, put aside our dreams of "green jobs," and focus on the great domestic resources at our disposal. This means we need an all-of-the-above energy policy that utilizes oil, natural gas, coal, and nuclear energy to power our economy and empower the American worker. To do this, we must start by eliminating the Obama Administration's roadblocks to oil exploration in the Gulf of Mexico, along the Outer Continental Shelf, and onshore - including in ANWR. Furthermore, no new natural gas regulations, such as those being debated by Congress, should be enacted. The states are regulating the natural gas industry and there is no reason for the federal government to get involved. Federal regulation for federal regulation's sake serves no purpose - and in this instance it not only impedes job growth, but weakens our national security.

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While many Republican presidential contenders agree with the Santorum vision, none have the experience of Rick Santorum in successfully fighting for the American worker and real economic reform on the national stage. The Santorum record of national leadership and accomplishment is clear:

• Rick Santorum was the principle author of the landmark 1996 Welfare Reform law that not only ended a federal entitlement, but empowered millions of Americans to leave the welfare rolls and enter the workforce;
• Rick Santorum led the fight to ensure each and every American saw their tax burden cut; and,
• Rick Santorum successfully instituted term limits for Senate leaders when it was a member of his own Party who stopped the passage of the Balanced Budget Amendment.

Rick Santorum has not just checked the boxes, he has the courage to lead and as President he will lead America to 21^st Century economic prosperity.