Today, Representative Kevin Hern (OK-01) released the following statement following the release of December inflation statistics and their impact on small business optimism from the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB).  

“Biden’s policies are directly harming small businesses,” said Rep. Hern. “Expansion of the welfare state, overreaching government mandates, and out of control federal spending are crippling our return to the economic prosperity and consumer confidence we enjoyed before the pandemic.  Job creators are facing the harshest environment for entrepreneurs in a generation, with sky-rocketing inflation and disastrous supply chain failures.”

Rep. Hern continued, “Instead of alleviating these burdens with pro-growth economic policies, the Biden Administration continues to pay workers to stay home and is making it harder to fill open positions by forcing an unconstitutional vaccine mandate on private employers. Radical, unprecedented spending from the Democrat-controlled Congress exacerbates the problem and drives inflation even higher. We must get people back to work, stop wasting taxpayer dollars, and remove barriers for job creators.”

 The NFIB recently released the December Small Business Optimism Index, showing 32% of small businesses report inflation as the single biggest factor impacting their day-to-day operations. This number is up 20% from the start of 2021 and the highest level recorded since the 4^th Quarter of 1981. 

Furthermore, 36% of small business owners report that disruptions to the supply chain have caused significant disruptions to their business. Only 11% of business owners reported no impact from the supply chain crisis on their business. 

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