Republican House candidate Mullin calls for less regulation, more certainty in economy

Political newcomer Markwayne Mullin, a congressional candidate from Oklahoma tapped to deliver the weekly Republican address, says the Obama administration is smothering small businesses in overregulation.

“Our economy doesn’t need more meddling — it needs more certainty,” Mr. Mullin said. “And we don’t need more regulators — we need more representatives who understand what it takes to create jobs.”

“If we’re serious about keeping jobs here and bringing jobs home, we need to stop burdening small businesses with excessive and unnecessary regulations,” he added. “We need to get government out of the way.”

Mr. Mullin, a small business owner, is running against Democrat Rob Wallace, former assistant district attorney, in a race to fill an open seat held by Democrat Rep. Dan Boren, who is retiring after this term.

Mr. Mullin talked about taking over his father’s debt-burdened plumbing business and turning it into the largest service company in Oklahoma.

“My dad came to me and said, ’if you want to take over the family business, it’s yours. If not, I’m shutting it down,’” Mr. Mullin said. In less than four years, the company was debt free. Now, it employs more than 120 people and has more than 80 trucks on the road, he said.

“I’m proud of what we’ve accomplished, especially when I think back to how unsure I was about what I was getting into,” Mr. Mullin said. “Many of the folks I meet on the campaign trail have the same hesitation about the challenges our country is facing. They ask me, ’Have we gone too far off track? Do you really think we can turn this around?’ My answer, hands down, is ’Yes.’ And I know exactly where I and many of my fellow small businesses would start.”

That would be government regulations. Mr. Mullin pointed out that the Obama administration has pushed some 4,000 regulations, which together cost small businesses $1.7 trillion a year, according to the Small Business Administration.

Mr. Mullin said his company spends more than 40 cents of every dollar it makes on complying with regulations.

“When I first started using that figure, people would say, ’Wait, you’re talking about taxes, too, right?’” he recalled. “Nope, that is just what we spend on regulations.”

Small businesses would be in a better position if Mitt Romney is elected, Mr. Mullin said.

“Mitt Romney gets it; he’s made supporting small businesses a key plank of his jobs plan.”