Congressman John Bocerri, serving the 16th District, met with the members of the county’s chambers of commerce for a breakfast meeting Jan. 11. Bocerri, who said he knew he would have big shoes to fill, learned very quickly that congressmen are “sworn in and sworn at.” He was elected in Nov. 2008 and was sworn in as Ohio’s 16th District Congressman in January 2009. Hailing from the Alliance area, Bocerri represents constituents in Ashland, Medina, Stark and Wayne counties. His district office is located at 300 W. Tuscarawas Ave., Suite 716, Canton, OH 44702. He office number is 330-489-4414. Pictured is Bocerri, left and Doug Lane from the North Canton Chamber of Commerce.
Congressman John Bocerri has one year of congressional service under his belt. He met with members of Stark County’s chambers of commerce in Jackson Township Jan. 11. Here are excerpts from his presentation:
The economy and job growth
“We’re working on a bill to make research and development tax credits permanent and to do research here. I’m encouraged by Rolls Royce which moved fuel cell research from Singapore to Stark County (Stark State College).”
“We need tax incentives to rehire anyone who has been on unemployment for 26 weeks or more. We need to make certain credit is available to our small businesses who have seen their credit evaporate and were forced to lay-off workers because they floated payroll two to three months. Getting people back to work is the focus.”
“Transportation and infrastructure are two great needs. We need a robust energy program.”
“Tax cuts to the middle class is important.”
Health care
“This is a very important issue. One-third of the $2.5 trillion is not spent on doctors and patient needs. Eighty-five percent of Americans like their doctor and the care they receive, but they think we’re paying too much. Fifteen percent are underinsured. We need to rein in costs and take ownership of our health care.”
National security
“The President needs to bring the intelligence agencies together and we need to do more. We had a near miss (in Detroit on Christmas Day). It appears, like before 9/11, we had information but some agencies ignored it. We need to learn from our mistakes and grow stronger.”
