Our economy deserves dynamic solutions

This is a daunting task that will take serious proposals, difficult decisions, accountability, and leadership. The number of unemployed Americans has increased by .7 million, gas prices have increased by 88 percent, the federal debt has increased by 44 percent, and we as a nation have dropped in terms of global competitiveness from first place to fifth. In my own small business — St. Giuseppe’s Heavenly Pizza in Moline, Illinois — we have felt the effects of these increased energy prices and the burden of our federal debt.  Since July ’09, the prices of mushrooms and cheese have increased 44 percent and pork has increased 30 percent.

{mosads}We’ve heard the president say that we can’t wait for jobs. But after more than three years in office, I’m sorry to say he has little to show for his efforts. Unemployment has been above 8 percent for 35 months, more than 35 House-passed jobs bills sit stalled in the Senate, the president has rejected the job-creating Keystone pipeline, and the president mentioned “small business” – the lifeblood of America’s economy – only three times in his State of the Union address. My unemployed constituents deserve better.

We have heard the president discuss the need to address programs like Medicare to strengthen and preserve them for future generations. Yet we haven’t seen him produce any sort of plan to do so. My constituents – those currently benefiting from this program and those who may benefit down the line – deserve better.

And we have heard the president promise to halve the deficit in his first term. Yet here we are – three years under his watch – with our credit rating downgraded to AA+, a national debt of more than $15 trillion, and more than 1,015 days having passed since the Senate last passed a budget. Just last week – despite Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke admitting that the Senate’s failure to pass a budget has created uncertainty and slowed America’s economic growth – the White House claims the administration has ‘no opinion’ about whether the Senate should pass a budget.

My constituents deserve better.

While neither side of the aisle is blameless for the fiscal crisis we’re in, both sides are responsible for guiding us out of it. We must develop a credible plan to get our fiscal house in order, grow our economy, and get Americans back to work.

The American people need leadership, but our president — whose party had full control of Washington until just over a year ago — blames Congress for his lack of economic progress.

The House of Representatives has passed a budget that would put us on course to balance again; scrap tax loopholes and taxpayer subsidies; reduce spending; preserve Medicare; and encourage new job creation. But our new ideas have been blocked time and time again by the president and his allies in the Senate in the name of politics.

The American people and our economy deserve dynamic solutions.

I’m hopeful that the president’s soon-to-be unveiled budget will deliver the commitment to leadership and action that the American people deserve.

I hope to see realistic and scoreable specifics, not just lofty goals.  I hope to see programs that both sides of the aisle can agree will create an economy that works for all Americans – from those looking to start up businesses to those hoping to find jobs there. And I hope that the president begins to address the real drivers of our debt, attempts to get spending under control, and works to unite our friends and neighbors as valued citizens of the United States.

My constituents and I remain hopeful and optimistic that the best is yet to come. Our constituents deserve nothing less than all of us working together to get there.

Rep. Schilling (R-Ill.) is a member of the House Small Business and Agriculture Committees.