Rebuilding Our Economy

You and I know very well how devastating the many manufacturing plant closings and business closings have been here in Northeast Ohio. For the first time in their lives, countless men and women have found themselves leaving work at the end of the day knowing that they would no longer have a job. After 26 years as a pump assembler at one of our local companies, my own father was just laid off six months ago. He has worked at the same factory since the day he graduated from high school, and now is struggling to find a job despite filling out countless applications. The situation has only become worse in the last few years because of the mortgage crisis and the failure of our leadership in Washington.

Rising energy and health care costs, unfair foreign competition, and burdensome regulations have caused many in our manufacturing sector to close their doors. I am committed to doing everything possible to combat these concerns and to encourage greater growth and development in the manufacturing sector of our economy. The key to maintaining America’s edge in this highly competitive environment is to ensure that our workers have a level playing field and that our businesses are encouraged to invest in their greatest resource, their workers.

IMPROVING EDUCATION & DEVELOPING A COMPETITIVE WORKFORCE

We live in the most prosperous nation in the world, and our schools should be second-to-none.

We must begin returning dollars and decisions back to our parents, teachers, and administrators who personally know and understand our children’s educational needs. Education policy should not be determined by a Washington bureaucrat who has never even met your children, it should be determined by the individuals who are personally involved in your children’s learning and who know your children’s names.

Increased parental involvement is critical to the success of our students. Today, however, more and more families are finding themselves in a situation where both parents must work in order to make ends meet. This situation, brought on by higher taxes both at the state and federal level, means that parents have less time to spend helping their children with their educational needs.

This is another reason why tax relief is so important, it allows parents to have the time and resources that are needed to take an active role their children’s development. Increased parental involvement, higher standards, and accountability for results are all essential to improving our education system.

In today’s changing economy our investment in job training and worker education is critical to putting people back to work, helping workers to stay competitive and for the creation of new jobs. It is imperative that we strive to give workers a hand-up and not just a hand-out. To make that possible we must work with our labor leaders and our businesses leaders to ensure that they have the tools they need to truly compete.

• Create real tax relief for families of all income levels so they can better attend to the needs of their children



• Open up more opportunities to attend vocational and technical schools for those students who excel in hands-on-work. Many times, students are forced into college when their skills would be better suited to hands on training.



• Make college and other secondary school education tuition tax deductible.



• Make school choice a number one priority. While some students excel in a traditional classroom setting, other students may have a difficult time. Expanding opportunities through school vouchers and partnering with private industries to offer charter, online schools and vocational training can go a long way in improving the education of future generations.

AFFORDABLE QUALITY HEALTHCARE

Like many in our district, I am also concerned about the rising cost of health care which is threatening our families as well as our global competitiveness. Although there is no easy solution to the many problems plaguing our health care industry, we must work to provide easier access to affordable, quality healthcare.

The burdensome mandates placed on providers as well as the excessive lawsuits brought upon our doctors must be addressed. We must work to set sensible limits on non-economic damages to help restrain medical liability premium increases while ensuring compensation for those injured by negligence.

• Reduce unnecessary regulations placed on providers causing them to spend more time on paperwork than patient care.



• Implement tort reform at the national level. We must work to set sensible limits on non economic damages to help restrain medical liability premium increases while ensuring compensation for those injured by negligence.




ENERGY INDEPENDENCE

All throughout the district, families are struggling and businesses are in jeopardy due the increased energy costs we are experiencing. I do not support the “Cap & Trade” legislation recently passed by Congress, because it will only increase the cost of our utility bills, and drive more of our companies out of business.

We must move our nation toward energy independence. It is not only an economic issue, but it is an issue of national security. To compete in the 21st Century we must work to find ways to increase domestic energy supply, and we can continue to do so right here in northeast Ohio. Without pursuing alternative energy sources and investing in new energy-saving technologies, we risk losing our competitive edge and facing a future with uncertainty.

I will work to

• Encourage continued development of clean coal technologies and the building of such plants so that we can use our abundant sources of coal to deliver energy to the Midwest.



• Increase oil drilling offshore and in ANWAR. Currently we have an estimate of 19 billion barrels of oil available offshore and 10.4 billion barrels of recoverable oil in ANWAR as well as 150 billion cubic feet of natural gas a year. This could significantly reduce our dependence on foreign sources of oil while we develop green technologies.



• Reduce regulations imposed on the energy sector. While some regulation is necessary to ensure that unscrupulous people do not damage our environment for their own personal gain, most in the energy sector are mindful of the impact energy recovery has on the environment and take great care when extracting our precious resources.



• Encourage development of nuclear power which is a clean and viable alternative energy.




FIGHTING FOR OHIO FARMERS

Often times farming is overlooked when our leaders are discussing economic development, but agriculture and agriculture-related businesses are one of the most important parts of our region’s economy. The sixteenth congressional district has some of the richest farmland in the state. Our farmers’ commitment to providing a food supply that is safe, reliable and affordable must be supported and encouraged.

Congress is in the process of reviewing the multi-year legislation known as the “farm bill” which lays out important conservation, rural development, research, nutrition and feeding as well as other programs that are essential to our farmers.

Whether it is the farm bill provisions, trade, or technology, I will work to protect the interests of our farmers and their families.