U.S. Rep. Bobby Schilling - Republican

For residents of Illinois' 17th District, it all comes down to jobs. As your representative, job creation is my number one goal. Our government must provide certainty to the economic environment, so businesses can grow. Their success is America's success, and business owners need to know what cards are on the table. Uncertainty - in tax rates, regulations, or in the ability of Congress to work together – keeps our economy from expanding.

As a member of the House Manufacturing Caucus and the only Illinoisan on the House Armed Services Committee, strengthening workload at the Rock Island Arsenal is a top priority. I successfully offered language to the Defense Authorization Act that promotes public-private partnerships at military installations like RIA. This would permanently lift the cap on the number of partnerships arsenals like RIA can enter into -- a cap that currently limits their flexibility to increase workload, grow the local economy, and strengthen our domestic manufacturing base.

I will continue working closely with the bipartisan delegation representing RIA to bring it more manufacturing projects and workload. I am also a cosponsor and advocate of Rep. Dan Lipinski's (D-IL) National Manufacturing Strategy Act, which paves the way for a national manufacturing strategy to bolster this cornerstone of America's economy and grow jobs.

As a small business owner, I understand first-hand the impact uncertainty can have on the ability to grow businesses and create jobs. Business owners want to create jobs, not downsize, but the mere threat of tax increases in a downturn economy leaves job creators with a difficult decision: lay off workers, or increase their product's price.

This is an awful choice, as families are already struggling to purchase goods. Since January – when Illinois lawmakers passed a 67 percent income tax increase and a 45 percent corporate tax increase without rectifying our state's spending problems – 89,000 Illinoisans have lost their jobs, and our state currently ranks as the most broke in the nation.

We must also reform our tax code, which takes $163 billion and six billion hours for Americans to navigate every year. This time and money could be better spent, and I supported a budget that would eliminate many tax loopholes and broaden our tax base.

As a member of the Center Aisle Caucus, I believe all parties can come together and find common ground to help our fellow Americans; for example, we repealed the onerous 1099 tax provision from the health care law so businesses can focus on doing what they do best. Folks won't get back to work if government villainizes job creators and enacts policies that leave workers on the unemployment line.

I will continue opposing burdensome regulations like those on farm dust and boiler MACT (which will put over 200,000 jobs at risk) and pushing for passage of trade agreements to open global markets for American goods and create jobs.

I do not care who gets the credit; putting Americans back to work is a red, white, and blue issue. I will continue working to grow workload at the RIA, promote manufacturing, and remove job-killing regulations so job creators have the certainty they need to grow.

On the Internet:

www.reelectbobby.com orhttp://schilling.house.gov/