President Barack Obama touted how efforts to rescue the Valley's economy are working to employees at V&M Star Tuesday, but Ohio Republican leaders disagreed with his words.
Obama talked about how efforts to rescue the economy are working, creating jobs, growing small businesses and keeping communities like Youngstown going. He sited the $650 million expansion project at V&M, which promises to create 350 additional jobs as an example of how current policies are working.
Republicans feel Obama is misrepresenting the impact of stimulus dollars and said the Valley has seen job loss, not creation.
"The fact that the president has come to cheerlead the stimulus in a city where unemployment is 15.1 percent demonstrates just how out of touch Washington Democrats are with the harsh realities many communities are facing today," said Congressman John Boehner, R-West Chester. "During this time of hardship, the last thing the people of the Mahoning Valley need is more of the president's jobs-killing agenda that is only making matters worse."
Jim Renacci, a candidate for Ohio's 16th Congressional District, said the president's administration promised to create 133,000 new jobs by the end of this year in the Buckeye State. But so far, the state's lost 178,000 jobs, and the government's spent $1.7 billion.
Renacci and Ohio GOP Chairman Kevin DeWine said they just want Obama to listen to Ohioans' concerns.
"He really should listen when Ohioans say we need more jobs," said Renacci. "Not a job killing cap and trade bill that he admitted would bankrupt our domestic energy sector and wipe out tens of thousands of more jobs here in Ohio."
Boehner said Ohioans are not looking for common-sense solutions to help them tackle challenges they are facing every day.
"Last year, Republicans presented President Obama a no-cost jobs plan focused on helping small businesses put people back to work," said Boehner. "We've also put forward an 'all of the above' energy strategy to create jobs and establish a cleaner, more reliable energy future and a plan for real health care reform that will lower health care costs."
Renacci said it's not government, but rather businesses that create jobs.
