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| Perriello: Job push paying off |
Del. Tom Perriello |
Monday, July 26, 2010
By DEBBIE HALL - Bulletin Staff Writer
Fifth District U.S. Rep. Tom Perriello said recently that his concentration on job creation and dedication to the district are reaping dividends.
“For the last year and a half, we have been very focused in jobs,” said Perriello, D-Albemarle, who will face state Sen. Robert Hurt, R-Chatham, in the Nov. 2 election.
He pointed to an expansion at Monogram Snack Foods as an example of that progress. He announced in early June that Monogram Foods was approved for a $5.75 million guaranteed loan of stimulus funds through the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Development program. Last month, the company announced it would create 150 jobs, many by the end of this year.
Perriello also cited Faneuil Inc., a new call center that plans to hire up to 250 people within 24 months, and the New College Institute as examples of laying the ground work for job creation.
Continuing job creation not only is important to stimulate the economy but also will be key to reducing the federal deficit, he said.
“One of the quickest ways to reduce” the national debt is to reduce unemployment, he said. “You turn a deficit into a surplus” as personal earnings increase.
To create jobs, Perriello said it is imperative to develop a strategy that allows U.S. workers to compete with those in China. (See related story.)
“Rep. Perriello has consistently called for a concerted effort to revive the American manufacturing sector,” Jessica Barba, Perriello’s secretary, wrote in an e-mail. “He believes that America must again be a place that makes things, builds things and grows things. This will require making American products globally competitive again and eliminating incentives that encourage companies to export jobs. According to the Alliance for American Manufacturing, Central and Southern Virginia lost nearly 6,000 jobs to China from 2001-2008, or nearly 2 percent of the area’s work force.”
Perriello also said measures such as the Small Business Lending Fund — created to help address the lending situation — and the Small Business Jobs Tax Relief Act are helping create jobs.
As the campaign intensifies, Perriello said he will continue to focus on getting out the facts “of what we have done” for small business owners, senior citizens and others.
“This is good, old-fashioned people-powered politics,” he said. “We’ve just got to keep doing everything we can do for this district.”
That includes hearing from veterans. He recently asked that a field hearing of the Health Subcommittee of the U.S. House Veterans’ Affairs Committee, on which Perriello serves, be held in Bedford. The session was held Monday.
According to a release from Perriello’s office, the hearing was held to assess the current and future health care needs of Virginia’s rural veterans. A congressional field hearing carries the same importance as a hearing held in Congress, the release stated.
Perriello requested the field hearing be held in Bedford so the subcommittee could be better informed about the unique needs of rural veterans in the state. |
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