Cantor Lays Out GOP Jobs Agenda

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) laid out a jobs agenda Monday that calls for less taxes and fewer regulations on small businesses. 

In a memo sent to House Republicans, Cantor lays out 10 regulations he wants to repeal in order to welcome a friendlier environment for small businesses. Each regulation was chosen by committee chairmen based on their compromising effects on the economy. A majority of the regulations being targeted are implemented by the Environmental Protection Agency.

Cantor argued that these “regulations are reflective of the types of costly bureaucratic handcuffs that Washington has imposed upon business people who want to create jobs.” 

In addition to repealing a long list of regulations, Cantor’s agenda turns towards creating immediate tax relief for America’s middle class. Most notably, Cantor introduces a 20 percent small business tax deduction that counters the Obama administrations’ plan to hike taxes on Americans making more than $250,000 per year. 

“These targeted efforts will not interfere with House Republicans’ continued pursuit of fundamental tax reform, just as we proposed in our budget resolution this spring,” Cantor said. “Rather, [they] represent bipartisan and pro-growth steps that can be taken immediately to help businesses hire those struggling to find a job today.”

Cantor plans to “move aggressively” to pursue his new jobs agenda with the first vote expected early in September and would continue into the winter.