Vice President Speaks to National Federation of Independent Business
THE VICE PRESIDENT: Well, thank you, Juanita. Give Juanita another round of applause, will you? She is a great, great champion of small business. (Applause.) And I want to thank her for that warm and overly generous introduction and for her leadership of this great organization.
And to be here today to be able to welcome all of you, welcome you to
The
And it's a particular honor for me to bring greetings from a friend of mine who himself is a businessman in an independent business who's fighting every day for job creators just like all of you -- the 45th President of
The President sent me here this morning to deliver a message but first and foremost to just to say thanks. With the strong support of small-business owners like you all across this country,
And before I go any further, let me give you a quick update on one of the President's top promises and top priorities. As we speak, the President and I are pleased to report here in this building the
And in the coming days, with the leadership of our President, the American people and American small businesses I believe will witness the beginning of the end of the Obamacare nightmare. (Applause.)
I'll speak more about that -- I'll speak more about healthcare in just a few moments. But first, let me again give my thanks and admiration to all the members of the
NFIB is a titan of American excellence and entrepreneurship. For nearly 75 years, the NFIB has brought together American small businesses and given them a voice in the halls of government.
Today those of you gathered in this auditorium at the United States Capitol represent a staggering 325,000 small businesses from every state in this country, and it's remarkable to think about the impact that each and every one of you have.
You create jobs. You provide a pathway of opportunity for generations of Americans. And you are literally the cornerstone of American communities from the smallest towns to the largest cities.
And he couldn't be more right about small businesses in America. Give yourselves a round of applause for the difference that you make each and every day.(Applause.)
I just had the joy of meeting with about 20 small businesses from my home state of
Now they know that I actually grew up in a small family business in a small town in southern
And as the world knows,
We both know the sacrifices that are required, though, to make a business work. And more than that,
We both know small businesses are the engine of the American economy, and since day one of this administration,
Our President has picked a world-class
And with the support of his
I'm happy to report to you this President has actually signed more laws cutting through federal red tape than any President in American history. (Applause.)
The legislation the President has already signed that
In fact, the President also instructed every agency in
And in case you didn't notice, the American people elected a builder to be President of
Company after company are responding to the President's agenda with optimism and investment, like the historic investment that was made in an announcement yesterday at the
And small businesses and manufacturers we're told haven't been this confident in a decade or more, and they should be -- because our President is a man of his word. He's a man of action. And under President
But it has been a busy six months, but the President likes to say in the
We all know the truth: Every day Obamacare survives is another day that American businesses and American families struggle.
We all remember the broken promises they made to get Obamacare passed. They said if you like your doctor you could keep them -- not true. They said if you liked your health insurance you could keep it -- not true. We were told the cost of health insurance would go down if Obamacare passed seven years ago -- that one is absolutely not true.
In fact, our administration has confirmed that the average premium on the individual market has more than doubled since Obamacare went into effect less than four years ago, and in many states, it's more than tripled.
When Obamacare passed, we were actually promised that families would save up to
You all know also that, while premiums are soaring, choices are plummeting. Next year, about 40 percent of America's counties, including nine whole states, will have only one choice of a health insurance provider, which means they have no choice at all.
Even worse, dozens of counties will have no health insurance providers whatsoever on the Obamacare exchange in 2018. It's important to remember that while we think of these statistics and we reflect on them as policymakers, we're talking about real people facing a real crisis. You all know each and every day that behind every one of these numbers is a name, and behind every name is a story.
As I've traveled across the country on our President's behalf, I've heard firsthand from job creators and working families about the burden that Obamacare has placed -- the burden of higher costs, fewer choices, and worse care for people who need it.
As Juanita has pointed out, in her words, "the high cost of healthcare has been the number one problem for small-business owners for 30 years." But as she noted, "Obamacare turned that problem into a crisis."
But I want to tell you, Juanita, and to all those gathered here today: Help is on the way and it's coming soon. (Applause.)
You know I have heard this same thing from businesses I have talked to -- small businesses seeing premiums skyrocket by 25 percent or more every single year. I've heard from entrepreneurs who had to actually drop their health insurance because it's completely unaffordable. And that's a heartache for a small-business owner. You want to be able to provide health insurance and benefits for your employees, but you got to make ends meet. Sometimes you got to make those hard choices.
Worst of all, I've heard from job creators who can't grow, and some who are even struggling to keep their doors open. The men and women of the
Despite the opposition of literally every single Democrat in both chambers of
Let me assure you,
And when it's all said, the world's greatest deliberative body, I believe, will vote on a bill to keep
The
And as is testament by your presence here today, the American people are watching. Because you all know what's at stake. What happens in the coming days will determine the future of American healthcare, and whether our leaders in
But more than anything else, this will determine whether America still stands by principles that I believe are at the very heart of our experiment in self-government.
You know, for the past seven years, we've had a healthcare system based on the flawed premise that the federal government should order every American to buy health insurance, whether they want it or need it or not; that bureaucrats and politicians know better than patients and doctors; and that, worst of all, that the American people can't be trusted to run their own lives and make their own healthcare choices.
Well, today -- literally today -- we have a chance to take a giant step toward restoring a healthcare system based on personal responsibility, free-market competition, and state-based reform. And I believe the
The President and I believe that the
And after that, I'll make you one more promise: Before the end of this year, we're going to roll up our sleeves, and this President is going to work with the
I don't have to tell small-business owners that the Americans' tax code is one of the biggest barriers to success for working families and small businesses like all of you gathered here today. You know, there's an old joke that says that the Internal Revenue Code is 10 times the length of the Bible, but with none of the good news. (Laughter.)
Well, here's some real good news: We're going to cut taxes across the board for working families, small businesses, and family farms. (Applause.) And we're going to simplify the tax code by cutting seven brackets down to three; we'll eliminate the alternative minimum tax. And under President
And when it comes to businesses, the President has made it clear that we're going to cut the business tax rate to 15 percent to make sure that businesses across this country can compete with businesses all across the world. And we're going to make sure small businesses can realize that benefit as well. (Applause.)
Our administration is already working with the
Men and women of the NFIB, this is the moment, now is the time. So today I want to offer you a challenge -- a challenge to continue to stand with our President as he fights for job creators all across this country and for a boundless American future.
As you meet with your elected representatives in
And when you go and speak with them, speak with confidence. The truth is that small-business owners, I think -- and maybe I'm a little biased because I come from a small, family business -- you're really the heart of America. In so many ways, every single one of you has a story that springs straight out of the American Dream. You embody the American spirit. You never quit, you never back down, you never give up, no matter the odds. That's how you make it in a small business.
And that's the attitude that you need to bring here to
The truth of the matter is that our elected representatives know where the strength of this country lies, and it lies, I believe, in many places -- it lies in the men and women who wear the uniform of
But I truly do believe that the strength of America also lies in the courage and in the hearts of men and women who get up every day, put their feet on the floor, and make a small business work. (Applause.)
And so I want to encourage you on. Let your voice be heard, but also have faith. Have faith that there are better days ahead for America; that what we've begun to see in the recovery of the American spirit and the rebound of the American economy is really just the beginning. And under President
And, lastly, have that other kind of faith. This is a challenging time in the wider world, and it's been a challenging time for businesses. But help is on the way, and hope always springs eternal -- because for so many of you, like for me and my little family, our hope ultimately doesn't come from our government or from our elected leaders, but our hope comes from someplace deeper. And so I encourage you to avail yourself of that faith in these times, and pray for the good leaders who serve in this building. Continue to pray for our President and all the families that serve around him.
And pray with confidence that He who said: I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and future -- says that as much to this generation of Americans as He's ever said it before.
And so I say with faith today -- with boundless faith in the American people, so well represented here at the NFIB -- with faith in the determination of our President, and with faith in He who has ever been with those who first landed on the shores of this Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave, that we will make America prosperous again. We will make America safe again. And to borrow a phrase, together we will Make America Great Again.
Thank you very much. (Applause.) God bless you and God bless
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