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Rep. Bill Johnson says Trump ‘new sheriff’ in DC, will work with him to improve district

By JANELL HUNTER

The Intelligener/Wheeling News-Register

MARTINS FERRY, W.Va.  — U.S. Rep Bill Johnson has a vision for his next term with President-elect Donald Trump as the “new sheriff in town.”

During a visit to Martins Ferry, Johnson, R-Ohio, reflected on his accomplishments in office and discussed plans for his fourth term in Congress.

During his first three terms, Johnson authored seven bills that were all signed into law by President Barack Obama, and he also co-sponsored hundreds of other pieces of legislation. He is proud to have authored legislation that provides funding for veterans’ medical facilities, funding to change the legal definition of “trauma” so that burn centers can get grants and a bill to put President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s D-Day landing prayer on the World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C.

“As far as accomplishments, I’m not sure how many lawmakers over the past six years since the Republicans took the majority in 2010 can say that they’ve had seven bills signed into law by President Obama. I have also been working hard on regulatory reform so that energy development can progress. I led the effort in the House to push back on the president’s war on coal because it is very, very real,” said Johnson.

“We have lost thousands of jobs as a result of the drawdown in the use and production of coal. And we’ve been largely successful at stymying the efforts to shut down the coal industry. But it’s been an everyday challenge to do that.”

He said he also has worked to ensure that government overreach and excessive regulation do not extend to hydraulic fracturing.

“We have been making sure that agencies like the Bureau of Land Management, for example, that tries to impose a one-size-fits-all hydraulic fracturing set of regulations that overly restrict it,” have a hard time doing so, he said. “The EPA wanted to use that same template to regulate hydraulic fracturing on private lands, and we were successful in pushing back on that issue.”

Johnson also addressed cuts to local government funding for villages and cities across his district, which encompasses most of the rural Appalachian region of Ohio.

“That is a state issue, not a federal issue. Unfortunately the governor and the state legislature don’t need my vote so they don’t ask me my opinion on things like that. … Seventeen of my 18 counties voted for Trump in the primaries over Kasich. That should let you know what people in my region of the state think about what’s going on over in Columbus,” said Johnson.

Johnson added that the people of his district often feel forgotten by both Columbus and Washington, D.C., and it has taken him six years to convince his constituents that he is actually fighting for them. He said he advocates for and helps local entities obtain grant money for work force and economic development from the state, whether it be through writing letters or making phone calls for them.

Johnson mentioned his work PTT Global Chemical, which may build an ethane cracker plant at Dilles Bottom.

“We have been heavily engaged with state and federal regulators in regards to PTT Global Chemical. It is a $5 billion project that will employ 10,000 construction workers and provide 1,000 permanent jobs. It is the biggest construction project in the history of the state of Ohio,” Johnson said of the proposed cracker.

In his next term, Johnson said he plans to focus on regulatory reform and tax reform. He said he receives complaints from business owners across the district about the “onerous burden” of regulation, and about the burden of excessive taxation.

“There is a new sheriff in town … and regulatory reform will be on his menu. Regulations take $2 trillion out of the economy each year,” he said.

“We also need to let people keep more of their money. Our high corporate tax rate is making us non-competitive on the world stage. We will allow for the return of coal and innovation in energy that is market-driven, not subsidized on the backs of the taxpayer.” Johnson also talked about the importance of lowering health care costs and repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act.

“We must focus on quality, competition and choice. The market is what drives innovation and ingenuity,” he said. “I am encouraged that Mr. Trump chose Tom Price, a … surgeon who knows the health care industry in and out, to be the new Health and Human Services Secretary.”

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