The PA Chamber is urging federal lawmakers to consider the cost implications for job creators of potential policy changes under consideration in Congress.

At a Field Hearing on Job Creation organized by U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter at the State Capitol on Friday, Oct. 16, PA Chamber Vice President Gene Barr asked lawmakers to be cognizant of the tremendous economic challenges still facing job creators and to consider the impact of additional cost burdens on businesses' ability to fully recover from the recent economic downturn.

"The recent economic downturn has had a tremendous impact on business growth and employment," Barr said. "The worst of the economic slide may be over. But as was the case with the most recent economic downturns in 1991 and 2001, economists predict a recovery that will neither be quick nor robust. Simply put: we are not out of the woods yet."

Barr said the vulnerable economy continues to dominate the minds of Pennsylvania's business community. According to the Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry's 19th Annual Economic Survey – which polled member and non-member businesses across all industry sectors, more than one in three employers ranked the economy as the single most important problem affecting their business today. This is a striking statistic considering last year, only seven percent of respondents cited the economy as a concern, and in 2007, it didn't even make the list.

According to the same survey, sales estimates, workforce numbers and investment levels for the past year, as well as for the coming year, were the lowest on record of the study.

"But it's not only trepidation about the shaky economy that could curtail economic recovery," Barr pointed out. "Pennsylvania Chamber members tell us that a big reason behind the reluctance of business to spend and hire is uncertainty about future costs. Job creators are clearly holding back until they see the outcome of debates in Washington, D.C."

He said if not resolved properly, issues such as health care reform, cap-and-trade and potential labor law rewrites could place detrimental cost burdens on the employer community; significantly impede job creators' ability to operate their businesses effectively and efficiently; and increase unemployment.

As an example, Barr cited the deceptively titled Employee Free Choice Act and its job-killing binding arbitration provisions, which according to one noted economist could result in the loss of 600,000 jobs in the year following enactment.

PA Chamber members urge lawmakers to approach public policy from the reality that real jobs don't come from government. They come from a free market within an environment of competitive business taxes, limited and efficient regulation, balanced labor laws and the freedom from risk of arbitrary confiscation due to lawsuit abuse.

Along with Barr, other testifiers included Mark Zandi, chief economist and co-founder, Moody's; Sandy Vito, Secretary, Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry; David Dickson, district director, Small Business Administration, Philadelphia office; Bill George, president, AFL-CIO; Bracken Hendricks, Green for All; and Michael Garman, Pennsylvania Builders Association.