Pennsylvania House Republicans asked small businesses what they needed from the state to encourage a quick recovery, and the response was loud and clear — “Get out of the way.”
Today, state Rep. Marty Causer, R-Turtlepoint, House Majority Policy Chairman, will join House Majority Leader Kerry Benninghoff, R-Bellefonte, and representatives from the state Restaurant and Lodging Association and Chamber of Business and Industry to unveil the results of a survey sent to businesses asking about COVID-19 recovery.
The press conference will be livestreamed at www.PAHouseGOP.com at 10 a.m.
“This is the release of the study results,” Causer told The Era. “Over 900 responses came in. It was a great response from really all corners of the state.”
There were only two counties in southern Pennsylvania where no one responded to the survey, the legislator said.
So many ideas came from the survey that the report is 42 pages, Causer said.
“People are saying the best way to get our economy going is to get out of the way,” he said. “People talked extensively about the governor’s mitigation orders and the hardships that has (caused) for businesses,” he continued. “Getting businesses back open is a significant way to get the economy going.”
Causer talked about some of the other suggestions they heard from businesses.
“There were a lot of suggestions about tax policy, and comments that Pennsylvania is at a disadvantage because of tax policy, and that tax reductions would be a further way to spur the economy,” he said.
Burdensome state regulations were another topic of contention for respondents, who made some very good points, Causer said.
“Many regulations have been suspended because of COVID,” Causer explained. “Many people said if regulations are suspended, do we really need them? There were a lot of questions dealing with regulations.”
The possibility of an increased minimum wage and expanded unemployment benefits were other topics of concern.
“I’ve heard from businesses even in our area that are struggling to find people to hire,” Causer said. Some people were making more money on the expanded unemployment than they would by working, which was causing a deterrent to working.
While the comments from business people weren’t a surprise, the legislators were surprised to hear so many constructive responses.
“When you have people in the northeast and the southwest parts of the state saying there is a problem with regulations, we need to look at it,” Causer said as an example. “The complete report is providing great information on things we need to be tackling in the state capital.
“This will be very valuable for us moving forward.”
