Photo by Jessica Vaughn

FOLEY - Congressman Jerry Carl spoke at the most recent South Baldwin Chamber of Commerce’s Leadership Series event. Carl, a businessman by nature, gave a quick update on what’s happening in Washington DC and his intentions for upcoming bills.

“My background is all business,” he said. “The chamber of commerce, that’s where I’m the most comfortable. I understand how to start a small business, I understand the struggle of small businesses and I certainly understand the struggle of raising families with a small business, but I can’t think of a better profession in the world.”

Carl said COVID-19 has presented a new challenge to businesses nationally. Everyone has been affected by the pandemic in some way, he said. Recently he voted against the new COVID-19 bill, saying he couldn’t justify the decided amount that would be put aside for COVID-19 relief.

“Nine percent of that $1.9 trillion goes towards COVID, the rest of it is just pork, it’s fat,” Carl said. “It’s things in our business that we just don’t understand. Either it’s a tunnel in California or it’s a bridge. Then there’s $553 billion going towards the school system, which sounds great on the outside, but in reality that money doesn’t start hitting until 2023. We have got to get our kids back in school. I know here in the south that’s not as big of an issue, but from a congressional standpoint it’s nationwide the way I have to view it. We’ve got to get our kids back in school.”

He said he feels that the COVID bill hasn’t helped with getting students back to school or small businesses with getting employees back to work. Along with the COVID bill, Carl says discussions have begun on financing for the trillion-dollar packages. One suggestion is a tax increase, which Carl says he will oppose.

“We don’t know how the increase is going to affect small businesses, we don’t know how it’s going to affect us as individuals, we don’t know how it’s going to affect our homes and obviously our businesses,” said Carl. “You’re going to see me be a very strong pushback opponent on that.”

Future legislation Carl says he plans to lobby for will be the Mobile Bay bridge project. He also hopes to bring aquaculture projects to Mobile and Baldwin Counties in the future. A strong belief he holds is politics staying out of small businesses, which he plans to continue to fight for.

“[In Washington DC] it’s just rules and regulations everywhere you look,” Carl said. “That’s the scary part of government for me is they think more rules, more regulations fix things, and in reality as a small businessman, just leave me alone. Let me determine how I’m going to run my market, let me determine where I’m going to do business and how I’m going to do business, and let the market determine if I’m right or not. That’s the key there. I’m a big opponent of federal government getting involved in small business.”

Carl says he encourages people to reach out to him and his staff with issues they’re facing or issues they feel are important. You can find more information and contact info at https://carl.house.gov.

For more information on upcoming chamber events, visit www.southbaldwinchamber.com.