More than 25 people discuss job creation, Bush-era tax policy, campaign finance reform

Springfield, PA – Representative Bryan Lentz, the Democratic nominee for Congress in Pennsylvania’s 7th Congressional District, held a town hall forum on jobs and the economy at American Legion Post 777 in Crum Lynne last night for the sixteenth stop of his 10 week, 25-stop economic tour of the District. The hour-long forum was attended by about 25 people, who said they were concerned about companies sending jobs overseas, Bush-era tax policies that favored the wealthy and reducing the influence of corporations on the nation’s political process.

Lentz said he supported policies that would save and create good-paying jobs in the District, including closing tax loopholes that encouraged companies to send jobs overseas and giving tax breaks to businesses that spend money on research and new equipment to create jobs in the U.S. Lentz also said he supported extending tax cuts for middle class families to provide aid to working families and help keep the nation’s economy moving forward.

“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.”

Lentz launched his 10-week, 25-stop economic listening tour at the end of July. Recent stops on the tour have included a small business roundtable with U.S. Senator Bob Casey, and a tour of revitalization projects of Lansdowne’s downtown business district earlier this week.

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.