More than 30 people discuss jobs, infrastructure spending, trade policy

Springfield, PA – Representative Bryan Lentz, the Democratic nominee for Congress in Pennsylvania’s 7th Congressional District, held an hour-long town hall forum on jobs at the Brookhaven Borough Hall in Brookhaven today for the thirteenth stop of his 10 week, 25-stop economic tour of the District. The forum was attended by more than 30 people, who expressed concerns about companies that send jobs overseas, improving the nation’s infrastructure and the need for leveling the playing field with overseas trading partners.

At a time when manufacturers continue to be drawn overseas by countries that have low-wage workers and lax environmental regulations, Lentz said that companies in America should be given incentives for creating jobs locally. Domestic companies should be offered incentives to invest in research and upgrading their facilities, areas where additional spending could help businesses produce the kind of technologically advanced, high-quality products that are in demand in the U.S. and overseas.

“We need to start making our number one priority putting people to work here in America,” Lentz said. “Over the past 20 years too much of our focus has been on Wall Street and not on creating good-paying jobs for hard-working families.”

Improving the nation’s infrastructure would also be a good source of new jobs, as well as upgrading bridges and a transportation system badly in need of improvements, Lentz said. Requiring infrastructure projects to use goods made in the U.S. would also provide a boost to the local and national economy, he added.

“We need a first-rate infrastructure to support the local economy,” Lentz said. “These kinds of projects have the added benefit of being a big job generator.”

Lentz launched his 10-week, 25-stop economic listening tour at the end of July. Upcoming stops on the tour include a small business roundtable with U.S. Sen. Bob Casey and a tour of projects associated with the revitalization of Lansdowne’s business district on Monday.

Lentz has already introduced a five-point proposal for generating job growth, including giving companies incentives to invest and expand, and providing educational opportunities to train employees in fields where demand is growing, like math and engineering. He said he would use the ten-week tour of businesses in Delaware, Chester and Montgomery counties to further fine tune his proposal to target the demands of local businesses and working families.

Lentz has made saving and creating jobs the cornerstone of his campaign for Congress. He is the only candidate with a published plan to get our economy moving again and the only candidate who supports Wall Street reform and the creation of a consumer financial protection agency to ensure another collapse does not happen.  Lentz has also pledged to end tax breaks for companies that ship jobs overseas while his opponent Pat Meehan has signed a pledge that has bound him to oppose legislation that has been introduced to end those tax breaks.

A former Airborne Ranger, criminal prosecutor and Iraq War veteran, Bryan Lentz currently serves in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives from Delaware County. He was awarded both the Bronze Star for Service and the War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal for his military service. He lives in Swarthmore with his wife Jennifer and their son Thomas.