DC)—With unemployment rising in Alabama and across the nation like the hot summer temperatures, it is time for Washington to get past the debt limit discussion and focus on our economy and job creation.

A lot has been said recently about cutting spending and getting the Federal government off the backs of our small businesses and job creators.

I believe the growth of government fueled by trillion dollar deficits, if left unchecked, will eventually crowd out private sector job growth. Our country now borrows over 40 cents on each dollar it spends.

That’s why I support a new approach to government spending along the principles of the Cut, Cap and Balance bill that I voted for recently. We need to cut Federal spending, cap how much government can spend as a percentage of GDP and pass a balanced budget amendment.

Additionally, there are just too many job threatening regulations coming out of Washington these days. Just this spring alone, the Obama Administration proposed 4,257 new rules and regulations.

Excessive regulations threaten to slam the door on American job growth.  They push jobs to China. They hurt our competitiveness and encourage Alabama manufacturers to look overseas.

At the time of this writing, the House is working to cut over $1.5 billion from the budget of the  Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and to limit its regulatory power.  I strongly support this effort and hope President Obama will sign this bill to give small businesses a leg up on big government.

Every family across East Alabama is struggling with high gas prices. To help, we should develop our home grown energy resources. But government bureaucrats too often say no. Domestic energy exploration should not be held hostage by regulators.

In Washington, everything that goes on should be all about jobs.  I hope Congress will continue to cut spending and the red tape so the private sector  can get to work and good-paying jobs can be created.

Feel free to contact me on this or any issue at www.mike-rogers.house.gov, become a fan on Facebook at Congressman Mike D. Rogers, follow me on Twitter at RepMikeRogersAL and subscribe to my YouTube page at MikeRogersAL03.