With the recent announcement of over 500 job cuts at Hartselle's Emerson Electric Corporation, formerly known as the Copleand Corporation, Republican Congressional candidate for Alabama's fifth district Les Phillip released the following statement on Tuesday.

“This bleeding has got to stop. The people of Alabama deserve better and the United States deserves better. We cannot afford to allow our jobs to be drained overseas because of burdensome regulation and taxation of companies. It’s time to bring our jobs and businesses back where they belong,” said Phillip. “All of this talk about government creating jobs is the wrong approach. We've got to get government bureaucracy out of the way, and make it safe and profitable to do business. The private sector creates wealth, they are very good at it, and wealth means jobs.”

"The Constitution was written to secure the inalienable rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Today we have a government that has greatly encroached on the freedom to pursue happiness through economic success. Were the various federal tax burdens on Emerson lifted, their situation would very likely be different and those 500 people might still be employed. When our government does people more harm than good, something needs to change."

According to the Alabama Department of Industrial Relations, jobs are hemorrhaging in record numbers, with figures reaching 11% average statewide and topping 12% here in the fifth district in Lawrence County.

“We are financing the growth of economies in China and other 'lender nations' on the backs of our children, and their children, while we suffocate the companies that would otherwise provide them with jobs. This is not only irresponsible in a fiscal sense, but could be catastrophic to our national security. I will not go along with proposals from either party that continue this bad policy.”

“The people of North Alabama deserve a representative that will fight for them, not for special interest campaign donors. They deserve a representative that will put their interests over either political party and that will be a consistent, conservative voice no matter how the political wind blows. The need for jobs and business growth knows no political party.”