(Mark Pellin, Headline USA) Part and parcel of the Biden administration’s relentless push of a radical green energy, climate alarmist agenda, a Republican lawmaker claimed the Commerce Department is using a taxpayer-funded survey to threaten small businesses into regime compliance.
“I rise today to condemn the bullying and threatening of American businesses being conducted by the United States Department of Commerce,” Rep. Rich McCormick, R-Ga., said during a recent House session.
McCormick said small business owners brought his attention to the Commerce Department using the U.S. Census Bureau’s annual business survey to push compliance with efforts to expand the administration’s green agenda.
“In the Census Bureau’s annual business survey, business owners are now asked if they invest in a list of so-called green initiatives to fight climate change,” McCormick said.
The Biden administration has catered to its far-leftist base by championing an aggressive and ever-expanding list of environmental mandates, McCormick argued, which have put in jeopardy myriad small businesses that can’t afford compliance without passing along exorbitant price increases to their customers.
“If your local baker, dry cleaner or peanut farmer hasn’t been able to invest in geothermal energy or renewable purchase power agreement or extra battery-powered storage, they’re asked these threatening questions: are you afraid of lost sales; do you foresee getting a bad reputation; do you think it might be harder to raise capital or secure lines of credit; do you think you might be fined by the government; do you think your business will suffer if we implement a carbon tax?”
McCormick compared the Commerce Department’s implied threat of retaliation for non-compliance, and its potential consequences, to the Mafia’s strong-arm, extortion tactics.
“The bottom line from the radical leftists in charge of our executive branch: ‘That’s a nice business you have there. It’d be a change if something happened to it,’” McCormick cracked.
Small businesses owners pushed back against the survey with one commentator comparing it to how business was done in communist China, while another assured that, “As a small business owner we haven’t received one of those yet but rest assured if we do, my husband will hand it over to me to answer and they might not like my responses.”
Here are the relevant pages from the 2023 Annual Business Survey.
The message is clear: "nice business you have there, it would be a shame if something happened to it." @CommerceGov @uscensusbureau pic.twitter.com/eNY7G16txm
— Congressman Rich McCormick, MBA MD (@RepMcCormick) July 27, 2023
McCormick compared the administration’s survey to a rancid push-poll that had been weaponized with its leading questions.
“This is more like a shove-poll. This is the federal government threatening American businesses to engage in government-pushed policy — or else,” McCormick said.
“Well, here’s a warning of my own. If you work at the Department of Commerce and you’re responsible for this disgusting language, you will be hearing from Congress very soon.”
The lawmaker concluded with another warning, declaring that, “The time for bureaucratic overreach must come to an end. The federal government exists to serve and protect Americans and their livelihoods, not to pick winners or losers, not to destroy industries and not to impose climate change ideology on hundreds of thousands of businesses that bring prosperity to American families every day.”
