Renacci Updates City on First 17 Months in Congress

U.S. Rep. Jim Renacci (OH-16) shared with members as well as a nearly packed room full of residents what he's accomplished in his first 17 months as their congressman.

Below are some highlights of Renacci's talk.

Renacci also will host from 2 p.m.-6 p.m. today at the Employment Source, 822 30th St. NW, Canton.

DEBT: "Since I've been there, 17 months, our work has really been looking at our debt and our deficit, which is growing rapidly … My concern is for our children and our grandchildren and the debt that they have. It's $50,000 per person and a lot of people don't realize that; it's $50,000 per person today, and if we continue on the track we're going, it's $75,000 per person. So we need to make sure our children and grandchildren are handed something better than what we had in the past." 

GAS PRICES: "When it comes to gas prices I can tell you that we've passed a number of bills to try to get a lot more drilling, a lot more permits, a lot more things to occur so that we can get an additional flow of oil."

INCREASING JOBS: "One of the most important ways we can increase jobs in this country and increase the supply of oil is through the Keystone pipeline. We've passed bills a number of times so that we can get the Keystone pipeline passed and get oil moving into this country from Canada." 

SENATE: "Ultimately our goal would be to simplify the tax code, eliminate loop holes … We have almost 30 jobs bills that have been passed out of the House that we're waiting for the Senate to take action on. You hear the President sometimes talk about the "Do Nothing" Congress, and I can tell you that the House has passed a tremendous amount of pieces of legislation and they've gone over to the Senate and they're not touching them."

The Canton Repository had also followed along as Renacci toured the Zimber Ditch area, which has caused major flooding in the last several years.