TTMA Update – October 2018

TTMA – October 2018 – Congressman Warren Davidson

It’s always a pleasure to hear Congressman Davidson speak.  Not only is he an Army veteran, but his resume also includes an appointment to the US Military Academy at West Point, the Army’s 75th Ranger Regiment and the 101st Airborne Division.  After his military service, he worked in the family manufacturing business, growing it from 20 employees to multiple companies with over 200 employees.  He has also served as President of the Dayton Regional Manufacturers’ Association.  Since he’s not a career politician I think he brings a lot of valuable experience to Congress.

When he spoke to TTMA earlier this month, Congressman Davidson covered several topics but these are the ones that stick out the most.

• Reworking Congressional structure – Different parties have different rules.  For example, the Republicans enforce term limits on committee chairs and the Democrats do not.  We should standardize and simplify these rules.
• Tariffs – Very enthusiastic about how the President is fixing bad trade deals.  Unfortunately, uniform tariffs case lots of “collateral damage.”  Right now it’s only two of the five major Chinese steel companies that are “misbehaving” so Congressman Davidson is working on targeted sanctions to minimize the unintentional damage to adjacent/dependent businesses.
• Healthcare – Right now health insurance tcompanies are immune to anti-trust laws

Ask your senators why they won’t vote to fix the anti-trust issues in our healthcare system!

After these few statements, Congressman Davidson opened the floor to questions.  Here are a selected few:

1. “You were elected to end Obamacare.  Did you vote against repeal?”
   1. Congressman Davidson voted to amend Obamacare.
   2. Last March, the Republicans proposed a bill to replace Obamacare with but it had two large deficiencies: 1) It didn’t really repeal Obamacare, 2) It didn’t drive down premiums for people who buy insurance.  In the end, there weren’t enough votes to repeal so he voted to amend.  This was because House moderates didn’t want to repeal, which means the “repeal and replace” Republicans didn’t actually have the votes required to repeal and replace.  This bill would also give more control to states to create their own exchanges, as long as they protect pre-existing conditions.
   3. This bill is also sitting with the Senate.  The House and Senate were supposed to collaborate on a bill that could pass both houses but John McCain shot this down.
   4. Ask your Senator why this isn’t done yet!
2. “I have a strong call of duty to serve on the National Economic Council.  How do I do that?” – Congressman Davidson’s office has already sent this request through to his peers in the legislative branch to add the individual for consideration.  If others want to serve in other civilian Executive branch capacities (the SBA for example), let his office know and they’ll forward the request on to the right people.
3. “How do we legislate more help for getting high school grads into technical jobs?”
   1. The Congressman voted this Spring to pass a Workforce Development bill called the Farm Bill.  The House’s version of this bill includes an able-bodied mandate of working a minimum of 20 hours a week to receive SNAP benefits.  This able-bodied mandate includes training or schooling as a pre-requisite for SNAP programs.
   2. “Good full-time jobs are the best hope for long-term prosperity and stability.”
   3. He also said some companies are connecting with local high schools and offering to pay for students’ education while they work.  Some degree programs may not qualify, but most employers “aren’t picky.”
   4. In some instances, residents of Butler County are able to attend Miami University (Middletown or Hamilton campuses) for FREE as long as they work at least 20 hours a week.
   5. The current federal student loan program doesn’t take the field of study into account when approving college loans but maybe it should.  If we don’t start evaluating the likelihood of students’ career outlooks based on preferred major, we’re just creating indentured servants.  Community colleges (who are a powerful lobbying force) are highly opposed to this bill because it would require student loans to come with career counseling.
   6. Immigration reform – Make more visas available to post-doctoral professionals who paid cash for their education and need their visa to stay here.  We need merit-based immigration reform.

“Workforce development is key and is the top barrier to long-term US economic growth.”
-Congressman Warren Davidson (R-OH)

If you have ideas or feedback for Congressman Davidson you can send them to his office.  His website is https://davidson.house.gov.  I hope to see you at Clippard next month for the November TTMA meetings!