Brown: Regulations, Costs 'Wet Blanket' for Businesses

US Sen. Scott Brown hasn't been happy at work. 

"I've been disgusted lately to the complete breakdown of civility in Washington," said Brown at a breakfast meeting hosted by the at the Wednesday, Sept. 28.

The state's junior senator said that "despite a financial emergency and real challenges ahead of us," too many representatives from both sides of the aisle have been playing politics rather then focusing on the job at hand.

In fact, Brown's meeting with the chamber had to be pushed back from a summer date due to the debt ceiling crisis that gripped the nation's capital three months ago. 

Brown said that despite a national debt that has risen from $11.5 billion when he arrived to the Senate in January 2010 to  $14.5 billion today and unemployment stuck at just above nine percent, too many of his colleagues would rather stake out positions to harm their opponents.

"Debt, deficit, taxes, spend, jobs, national security. That's all we should be talking about. But yet, what are we doing? Almost everything but," said Brown.

Brown said the nation needs to return to a collective purpose it had a decade ago. 

"Ten years ago, it was a terrorist emergency and today it is a financial emergency," said Brown.

"I wish senators and congressmen would stand together like they did after 9/11 and say 'We're in a financial emergency ... and you know we are Americans first and that means regardless of our political parties and ideologies  and we have to do some serious work to step back from the precipice we are approaching'," said Brown.

Calling the chamber's members "the pulse of the economy," Brown said recalling his own time as a chamber member.

"Many of you have vibrant businesses and you completely understand the challenges we face each and every day," he said.

Lack of certainty

The biggest obstacle facing commerce Brown said from visiting businesses across the state is the lack of regulatory and tax certainty, a "wet blanket on business."

"It is the fear of 'what's next'," said Brown, from increasing health care costs, threats of higher corporate taxes and an push for additional regulations, "that can fill a room." 

Brown said he is not going to attack employers and people like those in the chamber who are job creators, a defense of his position not to impose a "millionaires" tax.  

"I will try to create an environment so you know what's coming next so you can hire and expand and for this chamber to continue to grow."

Yet that and other conservative positions does not restrict him from crossing party lines to support bills he believes are "good for Massachusetts and the country." 

With both parties holding enough votes to bar any bill from passing, Brown said that only bipartisan bicameral legislation will pass the Congress and be signed by President Obama.

Four months ago, he gave the keynote speech commemorating the 100th anniversary of President Reagan's birth at the Ronald Reagan Library.

Sitting with Mrs. Nancy Reagan, Brown said she asked him what the president's relationship was with the liberal Speaker of the House 'Tip' O'Neil from Cambridge.

Despite the political and philosophic gap between them, "They were like brothers," Reagan told Brown.

"I will battle until I am blue in the face and draw a line in the sand when necessary," but he still wants to have a social relationship with Democrat senators, "so when we are advocating, we can have a certain level of civility and that has been missing."