Relieve the burden

View larger image George Allen View larger image George Allen View larger image Former Gov. George Allen chats with dairy farmer Billy French inside French Brothers Dairy in Woodstock on Thursday. Allen is seeking the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Democrat Jim Webb. Rich Cooley/Daily View larger image Allen chats with area business leaders during a roundtable discussion at the Hampton Inn in Woodstock. Rich Cooley/Daily View larger image Allen chats with area business leaders during a roundtable discussion at the Hampton Inn in Woodstock. Rich Cooley/Daily View larger image Former Gov. George Allen chats with dairy farmer Billy French at French Brothers Dairy in Woodstock on Thursday. Allen is seeking the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Democrat Jim Webb. Rich Cooley/Daily

Businesswoman to ex-governor: Regulations crush entrepreneurial spirit

By Sally Voth -- svoth@nvdaily.com

WOODSTOCK -- U.S. Senate hopeful George Allen was so taken with Nancy Barnett's impassioned plea for federal tax reform, the former governor said he wanted to make the small business owner his campaign ambassador.

Allen spent several hours in Woodstock on Thursday, meeting with local business leaders and touring French Brothers Dairy on Water Street.

"I mostly want to hear from you because what I see in Washington right now is they're ignoring the voices of the people of Virginia," the Republican told the roughly two dozen people gathered at the Hampton Inn. "The reason I'm running for the U.S. Senate is I don't think we ought to give up on America. We need to reinvigorate the entrepreneurial spirit of our country."

That spirit is being crushed by federal regulations, according to Barnett, owner of Industrial Maintenance Solutions in Edinburg. She said her company offers alternative repair and maintenance options for private, industrial and military customers.

Barnett said she limits her staff to less than 10 -- and all of her contractors do likewise -- because once there are 11 workers on board, onerous requirements from the Environmental Protection Agency and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration kick in, including a regulation that a full-time safety worker must be on the payroll.

She also said there is a need for tax reform. Without it, Barnett said she can't take on more employees because of the unemployment tax rate.

"We could be hiring," she said. "The work is here, Governor.

"There's so many things we can do if they would just take the shackles off of us."
Barnett said the burdens on her as a business owner almost make her want to quit.

"There's no hope," she said. "You lose the incentive to be an entrepreneur."

Allen pronounced Barnett "remarkable."

"I would love you to be an ambassador for us," he said. "I would love to go to work for you. You're as good as a coach in a locker room."

One of Allen's campaign platforms is lowering the tax rate on job-creating businesses from 35 percent to 20 percent. He said the current rate is the second highest in the world. The lower rate would create more than 500,000 jobs a year, he said.

Allen also said the nation needs to tap into its wealth of natural resources, including offshore drilling. He criticized President Obama for turning down the Keystone oil pipeline, which would've allowed America to get oil "from a very reliable neighbor," Canada.

The pipeline from Canada to Texas would've created tens of thousands of jobs, while improving national security, according to Allen.

He also spoke in favor of shale gas and nuclear and coal energy.

The former governor is against nationalized health care.

"I want to be the deciding vote to repeal Obamacare," Allen said.

To a man who said federal legislators don't seem able to work together, Allen responded that was a common frustration. When he was governor, the General Assembly had a Democratic majority, he said, yet some of his goals were enacted, including welfare reform and abolishing parole.

"Everyone did ultimately come together to say, 'What's in the best interests of the people of Virginia?' rather than scoring political points," Allen said. "There's an urgency. We can't have any more of this just partisan bickering and gridlock and obstruction. Our country is standing still while other countries are going pedal to the metal, whether it's India, whether it's China, whether it's Brazil."